BY  GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL. 

iSLACKFOor  LODGE  TALES.     The  Story  of  a 
Prairie  People.     12010,      .     .     .     $2.00 

PAWNEE    HERO    STORIES    AND    FOLK    TALES. 
Illustrated.    New  Edition,    ismo,  $2.00 


SIGNAL— "WHO    ARE    YOU?"        ANSWER—"  PA'-NI.' 


PAWNEE   HERO  STORIES 


AND 


FOLK-TALES 


WITH    NOTES   ON 


THE  ORIGIN,  CUSTOMS   AND  CHARACTER  OF  THE 
PAWNEE    PEOPLE 


BY 

GEORGE  BIRD   GR1NNELL 


TO  WHICH  IS  ADDED  A  CHAPTER  ON  THE  PAWNEE  LANGUAGE 
BY  JOHN  B.  D UNBAR 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1909 


GIFT 

Copyright,  1890,  by 
GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

MAJOR     FRANK    NORTH 

— Pa'-ni  Le-shar — 
THIS  RECORD  OF  His  PEOPLE  is  INSCRIBED 


\  * 


NOTE. 

LAST  spring  I  visited  the  Pawnee  Agency  in  the 
Indian  Territory.  On  the  day  after  my  arrival,  I 
rode  over  to  the  house  of  Eagle  Chief,  whom,  under 
his  warrior  name,  White  Eagle,  I  had  known  for 
many  years.  Entering  the  door,  I  found  myself  in 
the  presence  of  the  Chief,  who,  after  quickly  put 
ting  his  hand  over  his  mouth  in  his  astonishment, 
greeted  me  with  a  cordial  deep-voiced  Lau.  Then 
we  sat  down  and  filled  the  pipe  and  talked.  Through 
all  our  talk  I  could  see  that  he  was  curious  to  know 
the  object  of  my  visit.  At  last  he  said,  "  My  son  I 
am  glad  that  you  have  come  to  us  once  more.  My 
mind  is  big  when  I  look  at  you  and  talk  to  you.  It 
is  good  that  you  are  here.  Why  have  you  come 
again  to  the  Pawnee  village  ?  What  brings  you  here 
at  this  time  ? " 

I  answered,  "Father,  we  have  come  down  here  to 


vi  Note. 

visit  the  people  and  to  talk  to  them;  to  ask  them 
about  how  things  used  to  be  in  the  olden  times,  to 
hear  their  stories,  to  get  their  history,  and  then  to 
put  all  these  things  down  in  a  book,  so  that  in  the 
years  to  come,  after  the  tribe  have  all  become  like 
white  people,  the  old  things  of  the  Pawnees  shall 
not  be  forgotten." 

The  Chief  meditated  for  a  while  and  then  said, 
l-  It  is  good  and  it  is  time.  Already  the  old  things 
are  being  lost,  and  those  who  knew  the  secrets  are 
many  of  them  dead.  If  we  had  known  how  to  write, 
we  would  have  put  all  these  things  down,  and  they 
would  not  have  been  forgotten,  but  we  could  not 
write,  and  these  stories  were  handed  down  from  one 
to  another.  The  old  men  told  their  grandchildren, 
and  they  told  their  grandchildren,  and  so  the  secrets 
and  the  stories  and  the  doings  of  long  ago  have  been 
handed  down.  It  may  be  that  they  have  changed  as 
they  passed  from  father  to  son,  and  it  is  well  that 
they  should  be  put  down,  so  that  our  children,  when 
they  are  like  the  white  people,  can  know  what  were 
their  fathers'  ways." 

Most  of  the  material  contained  in  this  little  book 
was  collected  on  that  visit. 


CONTENTS. 

HERO   STORIES. 

PAGE 

COMANCHE  CHIEF,  THE  PEACE-MAKER,         -  25 

LONE  CHIEF,  SKUR'-AR-A  LE'-SHAR,        -  -      45 

THE  PRISONERS  OF  COURT  HOUSE  ROCK,    -  67 

WOLVES  IN  THE  NIGHT,  -  -7° 

A  LEADER  OF  SOLDIERS,        -  74 

A  CHEYENNE  BLANKET,    -  -      76 

LITTLE  WARRIOR'S  COUNSEL,  79 

A  COMANCHE  BUNDLE,     -  -      83 

FOLK-TALES. 

THE  DUN  HORSE,       -  87 

A  STORY  OF  FAITH,  -      98 

THE  BEAR  MAN,  121 

THE  GHOST  WIFE,  -    129 

Tl-KE-WA-KUSH,  THE  MAN  WHO  CALLED  THE  BUFFALO,      132 

PA-HU-KA'-TAWA,  -  -    142 

THE  BOY  WHO  WAS  SACRIFICED,      -  161 

THE  SNAKE  BROTHER,      -  -    171 

O'RE-KA-RAHR,                                     -  182 

THE  GHOST  BRIDE,  -           -    191 

THE  BOY  WHO  SAW  A-TI'-US  -          195 

How  THE  DEER  LOST  His  GALL,  -    204 
YELLOW  Fox,  ------          206 


viii  Contents. 

NOTES  ON   THE   PAWNEES. 
THE   PAWNEES  : 

I.     RELATIONSHIPS,    -                      -           -  -    215 

II.     ORIGIN  AND  MIGRATIONS,     -  .          223 

III.  THE  SKIDI,                                   -           -  -231 

IV.  NAME  AND  EMBLEM,  .          239 

PAWNEE   CUSTOMS: 

I.     EARLY  DAYS,       -                       -  249 

II.     EVERY-DAY  LIFE,      -  259 

III.     A  SUMMER  HUNT,                       -  270 
THE  PAWNEE  IN  WAR  : 

I.     ENEMIES  AND  METHODS  OF  WARFARE,  -          303 

II.     PA'-NI  LE-SHAR  AND  His  SCOUTS,         -  .    323 

III.     WAR  PARTIES,                                    -  .          335 

RELIGION  : 

I.     BELIEFS,    -                                   -  350 

II.     CEREMONIES,  -----  360 

III.     MEDICINE  AND  MYSTERY,                       -  .    374 
LATER    HISTORY  : 

I.     REMOVAL  TO  THE  INDIAN  TERRITORY,  -          389 

II.     PRESENT  CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS,    -  -    397 
APPENDIX  : 

THE  PAWNKK  LANGUAGE,      -                         _  409 


THE    PAWNEES   AND   THEIR   STORIES. 


the  Pawnees  were  a  great  people.  They 
were  very  numerous.  They  were  undisputed 
masters  of  a  vast  territory.  They  had  everything 
that  heart  could  wish.  Their  corn  and  their  buffalo 
gave  them  food,  clothing  and  shelter  ;  they  had 
weapons  for  war  and  for  the  chase.  They  roamed 
over  the  country  without  let  or  hindrance.  In  peace 
they  were  light-hearted  and  contented  ;  in  war  cun 
ning,  fierce  and  successful.  Their  name  was  a  terror 
to  their  enemies.  This  was  in  the  past.  Now  they 
are  few  in  number,  poor,  a  prey  to  disease,  a  vanish 
ing  race. 

My  acquaintance  with  the  tribe  began  in  1870. 
From  that  time  to  the  present  I  have  had  frequent 
intercourse  with  them;  have  lived  in  their  villages; 
and  been  with  them  on  their  buffalo  hunts.  During 
the  weeks  and  months  spent  in  camp  and  village,  I 


x  The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories. 

have  listened  to  many  stories  of  Pawnee  heroes  and 
to  folk-tales  of  the  miraculous  doings  of  the  olden 
time.  In  my  intercourse  with  the  tribe,  extending 
over  a  period  of  nearly  twenty  years,  I  have  been 
deeply  impressed  by  the  high  qualities  of  the  Paw 
nee  character;  and  the  more  familiar  I  have  become 
with  this  people,  the  more  strongly  have  I  felt  that 
a  permanent  record  should  be  made  of  the  tales 
which  reflect  that  character.  Unless  thus  collected 
now,  much  of  this  lore  must  inevitably  be  forgotten. 
For  the  Pawnees  are  passing  away.  When  I  first 
joined  them  on  their  buffalo  hunts  from  their  old 
home  on  the  Loup  Fork  in  Nebraska,  the  tribe 
numbered  three  thousand;  last  March  in  the  Indian 
Territory  I  found  but  eight  hundred.  And  more 
rapidly  than  the  dwindling  of  the  people  are  their 
traditions  lapsing  from  memory  under  the  changed 
conditions  of  the  tribe's  life.  The  lore,  which  sprang 
up  as  an  indigenous  growth  of  the  wide-stretching 
prairie  and  the  wilderness  where  the  wild  Pawnee 
warrior  hunted  free,  finds  scanty  nurture  in  the  un 
congenial  soil  of  fields  tilled  by  Pawnee  followers  of 
the  plow.  With  the  new  modes  of  living  come  new 
views  of  life,  new  motives,  new  sympathies — in  a 
word,  civilization.  To  earn  a  living  by  toil,  to  wrest 


^ 
The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories.  xi 

subsistence  from  the  earth,  this  is  the  problem  con 
fronting  the  Pawnees  to-day,  the  task  which  is  en 
gaging  the  sinew  and  purpose  of  the  tribe.  In  the 
transition  stage,  the  memory  of  the  old  days,  of 
old  manners  and  rites  and  ceremonies  and  of  old 
heroes,  is  with  the  elders  of  the  race,  those  ancient 
braves  whose  lives  bridge  the  past  and  the  present. 
When  I  visited  the  Agency  last  March,  it  was  to 
write  down  from  the  lips  of  these  old  men  such  ma 
terial  as  I  could  collect.  When  they  shall  die  much 
of  the  unwritten  lore  will  perish  too,  for  with  them 
will  cease  that  sympathetic  and  perfect  credence, 
which  alone  gives  to  folk-lore  vitality  and  lasting- 
ness.  What  is  written  in  this  volume  then  belongs 
distinctly  to  the  wild  Indian. 

The  task  that  I  have  set  for  myself  is  that  of  a  re 
corder.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  a  lit- 
eftry  color  to  the  hero  stories  and  folk- tales  here 
written  out.  I  have  scrupulously  avoided  putting 
into  them  anything  of  my  own.  The  stories  are  told 
to  the  reader  as  they  were  told  to  me.  They  are  not 
elaborated.  I  have  tried  to  show  how  Indians  think 
and  speak,  rather  than  to  make  their  stories  more 
entertaining  by  dressing  them  up  to  suit  the  civilized 

ite.     My  object  in  giving  these  narratives  in  their 


xii  The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories. 

present  shape  is  to  make  a  book  which  shall  be  true 
to  life,  and  shall  faithfully  reflect  the  Pawnee  char 
acter,  as  the  story  tellers  have  themselves  painted  it. 
In  a  very  few  cases  I  have  added  some  words  ex 
plaining  matters  so  well  understood  by  those  famil 
iar  with  the  Indians  as  to  need  no  explanation.  If 
these  tales  have  any  ethnological  value,  it  will  be 
enhanced  by  their  being  given  in  the  precise  form 
in  which  they  were  told  by  those  to  whom  they  have 
been  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation; 
but  quite  apart  from  this  is  another  point  which  is 
entitled  to  consideration. 

The  entire  ignorance  concerning  Indians,  which 
prevails  among  the  general  public,  can  be  dispelled 
only  by  letting  that  public  understand  something  of 
the  ways  of  life  of  the  wild  Indian,  something  of  the 
subjects  about  which  he  thinks  and  talks,  as  well  as 
of  how  he  looks  at  these  subjects,  and  what  he  has 
to  say  about  them. 

The  late  Mrs.  Jackson's  charming  story,  "Ra- 
mona,"  did  much  to  bring  the  more  intelligent  class 
of  readers  in  touch  with  the  Indians,  and  to  awaken 
sympathy  for  them  by  pointing  out  the  unnumbered 
wrongs  perpetrated  on  this  race  by  the  Government, 
Mrs.  Jackson's  book  was  a  story,  a  novel;  wonder 


The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories.  xiii 

fully  well  told  and  full  of  truth  and  feeling;  but 
while  it  may  have  been  a  relation  of  facts,  it  did 
not  profess  to  treat  of  actual  persons.  It  is  looked 
upon  by  many  readers  as  a  mere  romance.  It  is  a 
book  about  which  I  was  once  asked,  skeptically, 
"Did  you  ever  see  any  Indians  like  those?"  In  the 
Pawnee  stories  here  set  down  there  is  no  romance 
nor  coloring.  The  Indians  themselves  are  talking, 
and  whatever  the  faults  and  weak  points  of  these 
tales — and  some  of  them  are  sufficiently  obvious — 
they  at  least  give  the  reader  a  true  conception  of 
Indians  as  they  have  actually  lived.  They  are  stories 
of  Indians  by  Indians.  There  is  about  them  noth 
ing  of  the  white  man;  and  the  intelligent  person,  who 
is  sufficiently  interested  in  the  subject  to  read  this 
book  through,  will  gain  from  it  a  new  insight  into 
Indian  character. 

The  Indian  of  Cooper  —  with  his  bravery,  his 
endurance,  his  acuteness,  his  "high  qualities  of  hon 
esty,  generosity,  courtesy  and  hospitality — has  been 
laughed  at  for  half  a  century.  Yet  every  man  who 
has  mingled  much  with  the  Indians  in  their  homes 
has  known  individuals  who  might  have  sat  for  the 
portraits  iT;hich  C  Lrew  c  "f  *>'-  aborig 

inal  her  .      re  arc  g  a  among  Indians, 


xiv  The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories. 

just  as  among  the  whites.  The  prevalent  notion  ol 
the  Indian  has  been  formed  from  the  worst  class  of 
this  people,  the  Tazy,  filthy  beggars  who  haunt  the 
settlements  of  the  West,  "who  to  their  own  vices  have 
added  new  ones  picked  up  from  their  surroundings, 
and  who  are  hopelessly  degraded.  These  are  not 
typical  Indians,  and  it  is  unjust  to  judge  a  whole 
race  from  such  degenerate  specimens.  There  is  still 
another  notion  of  the  Indian  fondly  cherished  by 
many  worthy  people,  whose  sympathies  have  been 
wrought  upon  by  the  cruelty  and  injustice  with 
which  we  have  treated  this  race.  These  good  people 
look  upon  all  Indians  as  simple  children  of  nature, 
who  would  do  no  wrong  if  they  had  not  been  con 
taminated  by  contact  with  vicious  whites.  It  is  un 
necessary  to  say  that  this  notion  of  the  Indian  is  also 
incorrect. 


The  Indian  is  neither  a  fiend  nor  a  saint.  There 
are  good  ones  and  bad  ones.  As  a  rule,  perhaps  they 
try  to  act  up  to  their  ideas  of  what  is  right,  but  the 
standard  of  a  race  of  barbarians  cannot  be  the  same 
as  that  of  a  civilized  people,  and  in  judging  of  their 
character  we  must  make  allowances  for  this  differ 
ence.  The  standard  of  right  and  wrong  among 
civilized  people  is  a  growth,  the  product  of  the  ex 


The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories.  xv 

perience  of  thousands  of  years.  The  Indian  races 
have  not  been  through  a  like  experience.  They  have 
regarded  as  virtues  some  things  which  seem  to  us 
the  worst  of  crimes.  The  Indian  differs  from  the 
white  man  in  education  and  manner  of  life,  and  so, 
of  course,  in  his  modes  of  thought.  He  has  not 
been  taught  the  lesson  of  self-control,  which  his  sur 
roundings  oblige  each  civilized  man  to  begin  to  learn 
as  a  child.  He  has  known  until  recent  times  no  law 
save  that  of  strength.  He  has  been  taught  that  war 
is  the  noblest  of  pursuits — the  only  one  worthy  of 
man.  And  that  war  has  consisted  in  making  forays 
upon  his  enemies,  taking  their  possessions,  and,  if 
possible,  their  lives  and  their  scalps.  His  warfare 
consisted  in  surprises  rather  than  open  combat.  A 
scalp  taken  was  a  trophy  of  victory;  and  the  scalp 
of  a  woman  was  almost  as  eagerly  sought  as  that  of 
a  brave  or  of  a  chief.  It  was  an  evidence  of  injury 
inflicted  on  the  enemy.  To  steal  horses  from  the 
enemy  was  an  achievement  creditable  and  also  prof 
itable. 

We  commonly  speak  of  the  raids  of  war  parties  as 
horse  stealing  expeditions,  but  this  is  wholly  mis 
leading,  because  to  the  civilized  understanding  the 
phrase  horse  stealing  carries  with  it  an  idea  of  dis- 


XVI 


The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories. 


honesty.  No  such  meaning  attaches  to  the  Indian 
equivalent  of  this  phrase.  They  take  horses  by 
stratagem  or  secretly,  by  the  usual,  and  to  them 
legitimate,  methods  of  warfare.  To  speak  of  their 
stealing  horses,  using  that  verb  in  the  sense  which 
we  commonly  give  it,  would  be  like  saying  that  an 
army  stole  the  cannon  which  it  captured  in  an 
engagement  with  the  enemy.  Captured  horses  were 
the  legitimate  spoils  of  war.  The  wealth  of  the 
Indians  was  in  their  horses.  They  had  no  fortified 
places,  no  ships  of  war,  no  cannon,  no  works  of  art. 
Their  only  valuable  possessions  were  their  horses. 
These  were  the  only  property  that  could  be  carried 
off.  Therefore,  when  an  expedition  was  made 
against  a  hostile  tribe,  scalps  and  horses  were  natur 
ally  its  object.  Horses,  being  their  only  valuable 
possessions,  constituted  their  medium  of  exchange,  so 
far  as  they  had  any.  Did  a  man  wish  to  purchase 
an  ornament,  or  an  article  of  dress  which  took  his 
fancy,  he  gave  a  horse  for  it.  If  he  bought  a  wife 
he  paid  for  her  in  horses.  The  most  valuable  pres 
ent  that  could  be  made  was  a  good  horse;  and 
horses  were  often  given  by  the  well-to-do  to  their 
friends  and  relations  who  had  been  sick  or  unfor 
tunate.  On  the  other  hand,  when,  as  was  some- 


The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories.  xvii 

times  the  case,  a  conquered  tribe  was  condemned 
to  pay  a  war  indemnity,  they  paid  it  in  horses.  It  is 
related  that  when  the  Skidi  broke  their  treaty  with 
the  other  bands,  and  were  afterward  conquered  by 
them,  they  were  obliged  to  pay  such  a  fine. 

This  view  of  Indian  warfare  being  understood, 
the  motive  of  the  hero  stories  here  given,  and  of 
many  of  the  folk-tales,  becomes  plain. 

The  Pawnees  are  essentially  a  religious  people. 
They  worship  Ti-ra'-wa,  who  is  in  and  of  everything. 
Unlike  many  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  West,  they 
do  not  adore  any  material  thing.  They  regard  cer 
tain  places  as  sacred,  but  these  are  so  only  because 
blessed  by  the  Divine  presence.  The  Pawnee  Deity 
is  not  personified.  He  is  intangible,  quite  as  much  so 
as  the  God  of  the  Christians.  The  sacred  character 
of  Ti-ra'-wa  extends  to  animal  nature.  The  fishes 
which  swim  in  the  rivers,  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the 
beasts  which  roam  over  the  prairie,  have  sometimes 
intelligence,  knowledge  and  power  far  beyond  those 
of  man.  But  they  are  not  gods.  Their  miraculous 
attributes  are  given  them  by  the  Ruler,  whose  ser 
vants  they  are,  and  who  often  makes  them  the  me 
dium  of  his  communications  to  man.  They  are  his 
messengers — his  angels — and  their  powers  are  al- 


xviii  The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories. 

ways  used  for  good.  Prayers  are  made  to  them; 
sometimes  for  direct  help  in  time  of  need,  but  more 
often  for  intercession.  Often  in  the  folk-tales  it  will 
be  seen  that  when  the  blessing  asked  for  is  some 
small  thing,  a  prayer  is  made  to  the  animals  (Na- 
hu'rac],  but  if  the  petitioners  are  asking  for  some 
great  thing,  something  which  is  very  difficult  to 
grant,  then  the  prayer  is  made  to  "One  Above,"  to 
"The  Ruler,"  that  is,  to  the  Supreme  Being. 

Nothing  of  importance  was  ever  undertaken  with 
out  a  prayer  for  help,  for  success.  All  the  serious 
undertakings  of  the  year,  whose  success  would  affect 
the  general  welfare,  were  preceded  by  religious  cere 
monies,  when  all  the  tribe  took  part,  and  prayers 
were  made  and  sacrifices  offered  to  Ti-ra'-wa;  and 
in  all  lesser  enterprises,  the  individuals  who  were 
interested  humbled  themselves  and  implored  the 
Divine  assistance.  A  party  starting  off  on  the  war 
path  prayed  for  success  and  made  a  burnt  offering. 
Prayer  and  sacrifice  always  marked  the  beginning  of 
the  feast,  and  often  its  end.  Success  in  their  under 
takings  was  acknowledged  by  grateful  offerings  to 
the  Ruler.  The  victorious  warrior  sometimes  sacri 
ficed  the  scalp  torn  from  the  head  of  his  enemy,  and 
this  was  burned  with  elaborate  ceremonies  by  the 


The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories.  xix 

High  Priest.  He  who  brought  back  from  a  foray 
many  horses,  gave  one  to  the  priest  as  a  thank-offer 
ing  to  the  Ruler.  One  of  the  well-known  Seven 
Brothers  said  to  me,  "It  is  our  aim,  after  we  have 
been  helped,  to  give  thanks." 

The  feeling  of  these  Indians  toward  their  God  is 
one  of  humility  and  reverence.  They  do  not  love 
him,  but  they  look  to  him  for  help  at  all  times.  The 
young  are  exhorted  to  humble  themselves  before 
him,  to  pray  to  him,  to  look  to  One  Above,  to  ask 
help  from  the  Ruler.  In  the  stories  which  are  in 
cluded  in  this  book  the  allusions  constantly  made  to 
Ti-ra'-wa — the  Supreme  Power — the  prayers  offered 
and  the  humility  and  self-abnegation  so  often  ex 
pressed,  show  faith,  profound  religious  feelings,  and 
great  elevation  of  thought. 

Among  tribal  names  of  North  American  Indians, 
none  is  more  familiar  to  us  than  Pawnee;  yet  of  no 
tribe  is  less  known.  Frequent  allusions  to  them  oc 
cur  in  the  writings  of  early  travelers  in  the  West; 
but  only  one  satisfactory  attempt  has  been  made  to 
write  a  connected  history  of  this  family.  In  the 
Magazine  of  American  History  for  1 880-81  Mr.  John 
B.  Dunbar  published  a  most  interesting  account  of 


xx  The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories. 

this  tribe,  but  his  sketch  is  mainly  historical,  and 
does  not  profess  to  treat  exhaustively  of  the  lives 
and  modes  of  thought  of  this  people.  It  is,  how 
ever,  a  history  of  very  great  importance  and  value, 
and  in  preparing  the  historical  matter  which  is  in 
cluded  in  this  volume,  I  have  not  hesitated  to  draw 
on  Mr.  Dunbar's  papers,  which  must  form  the  basis 
of  any  subsequent  account  of  the  Pawnees,  and 
which  should  be  read  by  all  who  are  interested  in 
this  people. 

I  owe  much  of  my  interest  in  and  knowledge  of 
the  Pawnees  to  my  long  intimacy  with  the  late 
Major  Frank  North,  who  from  his  extended  inter 
course  and  close  connection  with  this  people — a  con 
nection  which  lasted  more  than  thirty  years — was 
unquestionably  better  informed  about  them  than 
any  other  white  man  has  ever  been;  and  with  Capt. 
L.  H.  North,  his  brother,  who  was  for  many  years 
associated  with  Major  North  in  command  of  the 
Pawnee  Scouts. 

In  gathering  the  material  here  presented  I  have 
been  assisted  also  by  James  R.  Murie,  a  nephew  of 
Comanche  Chief;  by  Ralph  J.  Weeks,  a  half-brother 
of  Lone  Chief;  by  Harry  Kuhns,  by  Eagle  Chief 
and  Bear  Chief,  Skidis;  by  Good  Chief  and  Curly 


The  Pawnees  and  their  Stories.  xxi 

Chief,  Kit-ke-hahk-is;  by  Secret  Pipe  Chief  and 
Frank  White,  Chau-is,  and  by  many  others  of  my 
Pawnee  friends,  to  all  of  whom  my  acknowledg 
ments  are  due. 

In  the  pronunciation  of  the  few  Pawnee  words  used 
in  these  stories,  the  vowel  sounds,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
give  them,  are  as  follows:  a  as  in  father,  e  as  the  a  in 
ale,  /  as  e  in  cede,  u  long  as  oo  in  pool,  u  short  as  in 
us,  au  as  ou  in  house.  These  sounds  depend  some 
what  on  the  letters  which  follow  the  vowels,  and  the 
spelling  does  not  always  conform  to  the  rule  laid 
down.  The  last  two  syllables  in  the  word  Pita-hau- 
erat,  for  example,  are  pronounced  zrat  or  idot.  The 
sounds  of  d,  /,  n  and  r  are  difficult  to  express  by 
English  letters;  .-sometimes  has  its  own  sound  quite 
distinctly,  at  others  more  the  sound  of  d;  n  often  has 
a  d  sound,  and  /  a  sound  of  n.  It  will  be  noted  that 
throughout  this  volume  I  have  used  the  familiar 
English  word  Pawnee  instead  of  the  evidently  more 
correct  Pa'-ni. 

Finally  I  have  refrained  from  commenting  on  the 
stories,  though  there  is  abundant  opportunity  for 

comment. 

G.  B.  G. 

JULY,  1889. 


HERO  STORIES. 


COMANCHE    CHIEF. 
THE  PEACE-MAKER. 


MANY  years  ago  there  lived  in  the  Ski'-di vil 
lage  a  young  man,  about  sixteen  years  old. 
His  name  was  Kut-a'wi-kutz  (the  hawk).  At  this 
time  the  Pawnees  wore  their  hair  in  the  ancient 
fashion,  cut  as  the  Osages  wear  theirs;  the  whole 
head  was  shaved  except  a  roach  running  back  from 
the  forehead  beyond  the  scalp  lock. 

A  war  party  went  off  to  the  south  and  he  joined 
them  as  a  servant.  They  went  a  long  way  and  a 
long  way,  traveling  far,  but  they  got  no  horses  and 
came  back.  Afterward  another  party  started  off  on 
the  warpath,  and  he  went  with  it.  They  traveled 
many  days,  going  to  the  southwest,  and  at  length 
they  came  to  a  camp,  and  hid  themselves  to  wait  un 
til  it  was  dark.  It  was  a  camp  of  the  Comanches. 


26  Hero  Stories. 

When  night  had  come  they  all  went  into  the  camp 
to  steal  horses.  This  young  man  went  to  a  lodge  near 
which  stood  three  horses,  two  spotted  horses  and  one 
gray.  They  were  tied  near  the  door  of  the  lodge,  and 
from  this  he  thought  they  must  be  fast,  for  the  Indians 
usually  tie  up  their  best  horses  close  to  the  lodge 
door,  where  they  will  be  under  their  eyes  as  much 
as  possible.  He  went  to  the  lodge  to  cut  the  ropes, 
and  just  as  he  was  about  to  do  so  he  thought  he 
heard  some  one  inside.  He  stepped  up  close  to  the 
lodge,  and  looked  in  through  a  little  opening  between 
the  door  and  the  lodge,  and  saw  a  small  fire  burning, 
and  on  the  other  side  of  the  fire  was  sitting  a  young 
girl,  combing  her  long  hair.  The  young  man  looked 
around  the  lodge  to  see  who  else  was  there,  and  saw 
only  an  old  man  and  an  old  woman,  and  the  fire- 
maker.  He  cut  the  ropes  of  the  two  spotted  horses 
standing  outside,  led  the  horses  out  of  the  camp,  and 
met  his  companion.  To  him  he  said,  "Now,  brother, 
you  take  these  horses  and  go  to  the  hill  where  we 
were  hiding  to-day,  and  wait  for  me  there.  I  have 
seen  another  fine  spotted  horse  that  I  want  to  get;  I 
will  go  back  for  it  and  will  meet  you  before  morning 
at  that  place." 

He  went  back,  as  if  to  get  the  spotted  horse,  but 


Comanche  Chief,  the  Peace- Maker.  27 

returned  to  the  lodge  where  the  girl  was.  He  went 
all  around  it,  and  looked  at  it  carefully.  He  saw 
that  there  were  feathers  on  the  lodge,  and  rows  of 
animals  hoofs  hanging  down  the  sides,  which  rattled 
in  the  wind,  and  to  one  of  the  lodge-poles  was  tied  a 
buffalo  tail,  which  hung  down.  Then  he  went  back 
to  the  door  and  looked  in  at  the  girl  again.  She 
had  braided  her  hair  and  was  sitting  there  by  the 
fire.  He  stayed  there  a  long  time  that  night  looking 
at  her.  Toward  morning  he  went  to  look  for  his 
companion.  When  he  met  him  he  told  him  that 
some  one  had  taken  the  spotted  horse  before  he  got 
to  it;  he  could  not  find  it.  When  the  party  all  met 
next  morning,  they  found  that  they  had  taken  a  lot 
of  horses,  and  they  started  north  to  go  home.  They 
reached  the  Pawnee  village,  and  every  one  was  glad 
of  their  success. 

After  this,  whenever  this  young  man  saw  anything 
that  was  nice  or  pretty,  such  as  medals,  ear-rings, 
finger  rings  for  women,  beadwork  leggings,  brace 
lets,  necklaces,  wampum,  beads — things  that  the 
Comanches  did  not  have — he  would  give  a  pony  for 
it.  For  one  year  he  went  on  like  this,  gathering 
together  these  pretty  things.  When  the  year  had 
gone  by  he  had  no  horses  left;  he  had  given  them 


28  Hero  Stories. 

all  away  to  get  these  presents.  He  packed  all  these 
things  up  in  a  bundle,  and  then  spoke  one  night  to 
his  friend,  saying,  "I  intend  to  go  off  on  the  war 
path  again,  and  I  would  like  to  have  you  go  with 
me;  we  two  will  go  alone."  His  friend  agreed  to  go. 

n. 

Before  the  time  came  to  start,  other  young  men 
heard  of  it,  and  several  joined  them.  There  were 
eight  of  them  in  all.  Kut-a'wi-kutz  was  the  leader. 
He  told  his  young  men  that  they  were  going  to  a  cer 
tain  place  where  he  knew  there  were  lots  of  spotted 
horses  to  steal.  They  started  out  on  foot.  After 
traveling  many  days,  they  came  to  the  place  where 
the  camp  had  been  at  the  time  he  saw  the  girl. 
There  was  now  no  camp  there. 

They  went  on  further,  and  at  length  came  to  a 
camp  and  hid  themselves,  When  night  came  the 
leader  told  his  men  to  remain  where  they  were  hid 
ing,  and  he  would  go  into  the  camp  and  see  if  there 
were  any  horses  to  take.  He  went  through  all  the 
camp  looking  for  the  lodge  in  which  he  had  seen  the 
girl,  but  he  did  not  find  it.  Then  he  went  back  to 
where  the  young  men  were  hiding,  and  told  them 
that  this  was  not  the  camp  they  were  looking  for; 


Comanche  Chief \  the  Peace- Maker.  29 

that  they  did  not  have  here  the  spotted  horses  that 
they  wanted.  In  the  camp  of  the  year  before  there 
had  been  many  spotted  horses. 

The  young  men  did  not  understand  this,  and 
some  of  them  did  not  like  to  leave  this  camp  with 
out  taking  any  horses,  but  he  was  the  leader  and 
they  did  as  he  said.  They  left  that  camp  and  went 
on  further. 

After  traveling  some  days  'they  came  to  another 
camp,  and  hid  themselves  near  it.  When  night  came 
on  Kut-a'ivi-kutz  said  to  his  young  men,  ''You  stay 
here  where  you  are  hiding,  and  I  will  go  into  this 
camp  and  see  if  it  is  the  one  we  are  looking  for." 
He  went  through  the  camp  but  did  not  find  the 
lodge  he  sought.  He  returned  to  the  hiding  place, 
and  told  the  party  there  that  this  was  not  the  camp 
they  were  looking  for,  that  the  spotted  horses  were 
not  there.  They  left  the  camp  and  went  on. 

When  they  had  come  close  to  the  mountains  they 
saw  another  camp.  Kut-divi-kutz  went  into  this 
camp  alone,  and  when  he  had  been  through  it,  he 
went  back  to  his  party  and  told  them  that  this  was 
the  camp  they  had  been  looking  for.  Then  he  sent 
the  young  men  into  the  camp  to  steal  horses,  and  he 
put  on  his  fine  leggings  and  moccasins  that  he  had 


30  Hero  Stories. 

in  his  bundle,  and  painted  himself  and  went  with 
them.  He  took  a  horse  and  his  friend  took  one. 
They  met  outside  the  village.  He  told  his  friend  to 
get  on  his  own  horse  and  lead  the  other,  and  with 
the  rest  of  the  party  to  go  off  east  from  the  camp 
to  a  certain  place,  and  there  to  wait  for  him.  "  I 
have  seen,"  he  said,  "another  fine  horse  that  I  like, 
and  I  wish  to  go  back  and  get  it." 

His  friend  looked  sorrowfully  at  him  and  said, 
"Why  are  you  all  dresbed  up  like  this,  and  why  is 
your  face  painted  ?  What  are  you  doing  or  what  is 
in  your  mind  ?  Perhaps  you  intend  to  do  some  great 
thing  to-nignt  that  you  do  not  want  me,  your  friend, 
to  knew  about.  I  have  seen  for  a  long  time  that 
you  are  hiding  something  from  me." 

Kut-a' wi-kutz  caught  his  friend  in  his  arms  and 
hugged  him  and  kissed  him  and  said  "You  are  my 
friend;  who  is  so  near  to  me  as  you  are  ?  Go  on  as  I 
have  said,  and  if  it  turns  out  well  I  will  tell  you  all. 
I  will  catch  up  with  you  before  very  long." 

His  friend  said,  "  No,  I  will  stay  with  you.  I  will 
not  go  on.  I  love  you  as  a  brother,  and  I  will  stay 
with  you,  and  if  you  are  going  to  do  some  great 
thing  I  will  die  with  you." 

When  Kut-awi-kntz  found  that  his  friend  was  re- 


Comanche  Chief,  the  Peace- Maker.  $i 

solved  to  remain  with  him,  he  yielded  and  told  him 
his  secret.  He  said  to  him,  "My  brother,  when  we 
were  on  the  warpath  a  year  ago,  anchl^took  those 
two  spotted  horses,  I  heard  a  little  noise  in  the  lodge 
by  which  they  were  tied.  I  looked  in  and  I  saw 
there  a  girl  sitting  by  the  fire  combing  her  hair.  She 
was  very  pretty.  When  I  took  the  spotted  horses 
away,  I  could  not  put  that  girl  out  of  my  mind.  I 
remembered  her.  Brother,  when  we  went  back  home 
that  girl  was  constantly  in  my  mind.  I  could  not 
forget  her.  I  came  this  time  on  purpose  to  get  her, 
even  if  it  shall  cost  me  my  life.  She  is  in  this  camp, 
and  I  have  found  the  lodge  where  she  lives." 

His  friend  said,  "  My  brother,  whatever  you  say 
shall  be  done.  I  stay  with  you.  You  go  into  tht 
camp.  I  will  take  the  horses  and  go  to  that  high 
rocky  hill  east  of  the  camp,  and  will  hide  the  horses 
there.  When  you  are  in  the  village  I  will  be  up  in 
one  of  the  trees  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  looking  down 
on  the  camp.  If  I  hear  shooting  and  see  lots  of 
people  running  to  the  lodge  I  will  know  that  you 
are  killed,  and  I  will  kill  myself.  I  will  not  go  home 
alone.  If  I  do  not  see  you  by  noon,  I  will  kill  my 
self." 

Kut-a'wi-kutz  said,  "  It  is  good.     If  I  am  success- 


32  Hero  Stories. 

ful  I  will  go  up  there  after  you,  and  take  you  down 
into  the  camp." 

They  parted.  The  friend  hid  the  horses  and 
went  up  on  the  hill.  Kut-a'wi-kutz  went  into  the 

camp. 

in. 

It  was  now  the  middle  of  the  night.  When  he 
came  to  the  lodge,  he  saw  there  was  a  fire  in  it.  He 
did  not  go  in  at  once;  he  wanted  the  fire  to  go  out. 
He  stayed  around  the  lodge,  and  gradually  the  fire 
died  down.  It  was  dark.  He  went  into  the  lodge. 
He  was  painted  and  finely  dressed,  and  had  his 
bundle  with  him.  He  took  his  moccasins  off  and 
his  leggings,  and  hung  them  up  over  the  girl's  bed; 
then  strings  of  beads,  then  five  or  six  medals,  brace 
lets,  ear-bobs,  beaded  leggings,  everything  he  had — 
his  shirt.  He  took  his  blanket,  and  spread  it  over 
the  bed  where  the  girl  was  lying,  stepped  over  the 
bed,  and  crept  under  his  own  blanket,  and  lay  down 
by  her  side. 

When  he  lay  down  she  woke  up,  and  found  that 
there  was  some  one  lying  by  her,  and  she  spoke  to 
him,  but  he  did  not  answer.  He  could  not  under 
stand  her,  for  he  did  not  know  Comanche.  She 
talked  for  a  long  time,  but  he  did  not  speak.  Then 


Comanche  Chief,  the  Peace-Maker.  33 

she  began  to  feel  of  him,  and  when  she  put  her 
hands  on  his  head — Pi-ta'-da — Pawnee — an  enemy! 
Then  she  raised  herself  up,  took  a  handful  of  grass 
from  under  the  bed,  spread  the  fire  and  put  the  grass 
on  it.  The  fire  blazed  up  and  she  saw  him.  Then 
she  sprang  up  and  took  the  top  blanket,  which  was 
his,  off  the  bed,  and  put  it  about  her,  and  sat  by  the 
fire.  She  called  her  father  and  said,  "Father  get  up; 
there  is  a  man  here." 

The  old  man  got  up,  and  got  his  pipe  and  began 
smoking.  This  old  man  was  the  Head  Chief  of  the 
Comanches.  He  called  the  servant,  and  told  him  to 
make  a  fire.  The  girl  got  up  and  went  over  to  where 
her  mother  was  lying  and  called  her.  The  mother 
got  up;  and  they  all  sat  by  the  fire. 

The  old  man  smoked  for  a  long  time.  Every  now 
and  then  he  would  look  at  the  bed  to  see  who  it 
could  be  that  was  lying  there,  and  then  he  would 
look  at  all  the  things  hanging  up  over  the  bed — at 
the  medals  and  other  things.  He  did  not  know  what 
they  were  for,  and  he  wondered.  At  length  the  old 
man  told  the  servant  to  go  and  call  the  chiefs  of  the 
tribe,  and  tell  them  to  come  to  his  lodge. 

Presently  the  chiefs  came  in  one  by  one  and  sat 
down.  When  they  had  come  there  was  still  one 


34  Hero  Stories. 

brave  who  ought  to  have  come  that  was  not  there. 
His  name  was  Skin  Shirt;  the  father  wanted  him. 
He  sent  for  him  three  times.  He  sent  word  back  to 
the  chief  to  go  on  with  the  council,  and  that  he 
would  agree  to  whatever  they  decided.  The  fourth 
time  he  was  sent  for  he  came,  and  took  a  seat  by  the 
chief,  the  girl's  father.  This  brave  spoke  to  Kut- 
a'wi-kutz,  and  told  him  to  get  up,  and  take  a  seat 
among  them.  He  did  so.  The  girl  was  sitting  on 
the  other  side  of  the  fire.  When  he  got  up,  he  had 
to  take  the  blanket  that  was  left,  which  was  the  girl's. 
Fie  put  it  around  him,  and  sat  down  among  them, 

When  the  chiefs  came  in,  there  was  among  them 
a  Pawnee  who  had  been  captured  long  ago  and 
adopted  by  the  Comanches,  and  was  now  himself  a 
chief;  he  talked  with  Kut-a'wi-kutz  and  interpreted 
for  him,  telling  him  everything  that  was  said  as  each 
one  spoke. 

After  the  young  man  had  seated  himself,  the  chief 
filled  his  pipe,  and  gave  the  pipe  to  his  brave  to 
decide  what  should  be  done  with  this  enemy.  The 
brave  took  the  pipe,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  decide, 
so  he  did  not  light  it,  but  passed  it  on  to  another 
chief  to  decide.  He  passed  it  on  to  another,  and  he 
to  another,  and  so  it  went  until  the  pipe  came  back 


Comanche  Chief,  the  Peace-Maker,  35 

to  the  Head  Chief.  When  he  got  it  again,  he  asked 
Kut-a'wi-kutz,  "Why  have  you  come  here  this  night 
and  lain  down  in  my  lodge,  you  who  are  an  enemy  to 
my  people  ?  And  why  have  you  hung  up  in  the  lodge 
all  these  strange  things  which  we  see  here?  I  do  not 
understand  it,  and  I  wish  to  know  your  reasons." 

The  boy  said  to  Kim.  "A  long  time  ago  I  came 
south  on  the  warpath  to  steal  horses.  I  traveled 
until  I  came  to  your  camp.  I  saw  three  horses  tied 
outside  a  lodge,  two  spotted  horses  and  a  gray. 
While  I  was  cutting  one  of  the  ropes,  I  heard  a  little 
noise  inside  the  lodge,  and  pushing  aside  the  door  I 
looked  in,  and  saw  that  girl  combing  her  hair.  I 
stole  the  two  spotted  horses,  and  took  them  out  of 
the  camp,  and  gave  them  to  a  friend  of  mine,  and 
came  back  to  your  lodge,  and  kept  looking  at  the 
girl.  I  stayed  there  until  she  went  to  bed.  For  a 
long  year  I  have  been  buying  presents;  beads  and 
many  other  things,  for  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that 
I  would  go  after  this  girl.  I  came  down  here  to  find 
her.  I  have  been  to  where  you  were  camped  last  year, 
and  to  two  other  camps  that  I  discovered.  She  was 
not  in  these  and  I  left  them,  and  came  on  until  I 
found  the  right  camp.  This  is  the  fourth  place.  Now 
I  am  here.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  do  this  thing,  and 


36  Hero  Stories. 

if  her  relations  do  not  like  it  they  can  do  as  they 
please.  I  would  be  happy  to  die  on  her  account." 

When  he  had  spoken  the  old  chief  laughed.  He 
said:  ''Those  two  spotted  horses  that  you  stole  I  did 
not  care  much  about.  The  gray  horse  was  the  best 
one  of  the  three,  and  you  left  him.  I  was  glad  that 
you  did  not  take  him.  He  was  the  best  of  all." 
Then  for  a  little  while  there  was  silence  in  the 
lodge. 

Then  the  chief,  the  girl's  father,  began  to  talk 
again;  he  said,  "If  I  wanted  to  decide  what  should 
be  done  with  this  man,  I  would  decide  right  now,  but 
here  is  my  brave,  Skin  Shirt,  I  want  him  to  decide. 
If  I  were  to  decide,  it  would  be  against  this  man,  but 
he  has  my  daughter's  blanket  on,  and  she  has  his, 
and  I  do  not  want  to  decide.  I  pass  the  pipe  to  my 
brave,  and  want  him  to  light  it." 

The  brave  said,  "I  want  this  chief  next  to  me  to 
decide,"  and  he  passed  him  the  pipe,  and  so- it  went 
on  around  the  circle  until  it  came  to  the  Head  Chief 
again.  He  was  just  about  to  take  it  and  decide  the 
question,  when  they  heard  outside  the  lodge  the 
noise  made  by  some  one  coming,  shouting  and 
laughing;  then  the  door  was  pushed  aside  and  an  old 
man  came  in,  and  as  he  passed  the  door  he  stumbled 


Coma  nc  he  Chief,  the  Peace-Maker.  37 

and  fell  on  his  knees.  It  was  the  girl's  grandfather. 
He  had  been  outside  the  lodge,  listening. 

The  pipe  was  passed  to  the  chief,  and  he  gave  it 
again  to  his  brave  to  decide.  While  the  brave  was 
sitting  there,  holding  the  pipe,  the  old  grandfather 
said,  "Give  me  the  pipe;  if  you  men  cannot  decide, 
let  me  do  it.  In  my  time  we  did  not  do  things  this 
way.  I  never  passed  the  pipe;  I  could  always  de 
cide  for  myself." 

Then  Skin  Shirt  passed  him  the  pipe,  and  he  lit  it 
and  smoked.  Then  he  said;  "I  do  not  wish  to  con 
demn  to  death  a  man  who  is  wearing  my  grand 
daughter's  blanket."  The  interpreter  began  to  tell 
Kut-a' wi-kutz  that  the  old  man  was  going  to  decide 
in  his  favor,  and  that  when  he  got  through  speaking 
he  must  get  up  and  pass  his  hands  over  him,  and 
thank  him  for  taking  pity  on  him,  and  so  to  all  the 
others.  The  old  man  continued »  "Now,  chiefs,  do 
not  think  hardly  of  what  I  am  going  to  say,  nor  be 
dissatisfied  with  my  decision.  I  am  old.  I  have 
heard  in  my  time  that  there  is  a  tribe  up  north  that 
is  raising  from  the  ground  something  that  is  long  and 
white,  and  something  that  is  round;  and  that  these 
things  are  good  to  eat.  Now,  chiefs,  before  I  die,  I 
want  to  eat  of  these  things,  and  I  want  my  grand- 


38  Hero  Stories. 

daughter  to  go  and  take  her  seat  by  this  man,  and 
for  them  to  be  man  and  wife.  Since  I  was  young  we 
have  been  enemies,  but  now  I  want  the  two  tribes  to 
come  together,  join  hands  and  be  friends."  And  so 
it  was  decided. 

The  young  man  got  up  and  passed  his  hands  over 
the  old  man,  and  over  the  brave,  and  passed  around 
the  circle  and  blessed  them  all.  The  Pawnee,  who 
was  interpreter,  now  told  him  to  get  up,  and  get  a 
medal  and  put  it  on  the  brave,  and  then  another  and 
put  it  on  the  chief,  and  so  on  until  all  the  presents 
were  gone.  And  he  did  so,  and  put  on  them  the 
medals,  and  ear-rings,  and  strings  of  beads,  and 
breast-plates  of  wampum,  until  each  had  something. 
And  these  things  were  new  to  them,  and  they  felt 
proud  to  be  wearing  them,  and  thought  how  nice 
they  looked. 

IV. 

By  this  time  it  was  daylight,  and  it  had  got  noised 
abroad  through  the  camp  that  there  was  a  Pawnee  at 
the  Head  Chief's  lodge,  and  all  the  people  gathered 
there.  They  called  out,  "Bring  him  out;  we  want 
him  out  here."  They  crowded  about  the  lodge,  all 
the  people,  the  old  men  and  the  women  and  the 
young  men,  so  many  that  at  last  they  pushed 


Comanche  Chief,  the  Peace-Maker.  39 

the  lodge  down.  They  shouted:  "Let  us  have  the 
Pawnee.  Last  night  they  stole  many  horses  from 
us."  The  chiefs  and  braves  got  around  the  Pawnee, 
and  kept  the  Comanches  off  from  him,  and  protected 
him  from  the  people.  The  Cheyennes  were  camped 
close  by,  near  the  hill  southeast  of  the  Comanches, 
and  they,  too,  had  heard  that  the  Comanches  had  a 
Pawnee  in  the  camp.  They  came  over,  and  rode 
about  in  the  crowd  to  try  and  get  the  Pawnee,  and 
they  rode  over  a  Comanche  or  two,  and  knocked 
them  down.  So  Skin  Shirt  got  his  bow  and  arrows, 
and  jumped  on  his  horse,  and  rode  out  and  drove  the 
Cheyennes  away  back  to  their  camp  again. 

The  Cheyennes  saw  that  the  Comanches  did  not 
want  the  Pawnee  killed,  so  they  sent  a  message  in 
viting  him  over  to  a  feast  with  them,  intending  to 
kill  him,  but  Skin  Shirt  told  them  that  he  was  married 
into  the  tribe.  While  the  Cheyennes  were  parading 
round  the  Comanche  camp,  they  were  shooting  off 
their  guns  in  the  air,  just  to  make  a  noise.  Now,  the 
young  Pawnee  on  the  hill,  who  was  watching  the 
camp  to  see  what  would  happen  to  his  friend,  saw 
the  crowd  and  heard  the  shooting,  and  made  up  his 
mind  that  Kut-a'wi-kutz  had  been  killed.  So  he  took 
his  knife,  and  put  the  handle  against  a  tree  and  the 


4O  Hero  Stories. 

point  against  his  breast,  and  put  his  arms  around  the 
tree  and  hugged  it,  and  the  knife  blade  passed 
through  his  heart  and  he  fell  down  and  died. 

In  the  afternoon  when  all  the  excitement  had 
quieted  down,  the  Cheyennes  came  over  again  to  the 
Comanche  camp,  and  invited  the  Pawnee  and  his  wife 
to  go  to  their  village,  and  visit  with  them.  Then  Skin 
Shirt  said,  "All  right,  we  will  go."  Three  chiefs  of 
the  Comanches  went  ahead,  the  Pawnee  followed 
with  his  wife,  and  Skin  Shirt  went  behind.  They 
went  to  the  Cheyenne  camp.  The  Cheyennes  re 
ceived  them  and  made  a  great  feast  for  them,  and 
gave  the  Pawnee  many  horses.  Then  they  went  back 
to  the  Comanche  camp.  Kut-a'wi-kutz  never  went 
up  to  the  hill  until  the  next  morning.  Then  he  went, 
singing  the  song  he  had  told  his  friend  he  would 
sing.  He  called  to  him,  but  there  was  no  reply.  He 
called  again.  It  was  all  silent.  He  looked  for  his 
friend,  and  at  last  he  found  him  there  dead  at  the 

foot  of  the  tree. 

v. 

Kut-a'wi-kutz  then  stayed  with  the  Comanches. 
The  Cheyennes  came  north  and  east,  and  the  Co 
manches  went  on  west,  nearer  to  the  mountains. 
While  the  Pawnee  was  with  the  Comanches,  they  had 


Comanche  Chief,  the  Peace- Maker.  41 

several  wars  with  the  Utes,  Lipans  and  Tonkaways. 
Kut-a'wi-kutz  proved  himself  a  brave  man,  and,  as 
the  son-in-law  of  the  chief,  he  soon  gained  great  in 
fluence,  and  was  himself  made  a  chief. 

After  some  years  the  old  man,  his  wife's  grand 
father,  told  the  Pawnee  that  he  thought  it  was  time 
that  he  should  eat  some  of  those  things  that  he  had 
long  wanted  to  eat  that  grew  up  north;  that  he  was 
getting  pretty  old  now.  Kut-a'wi-kutz  said,  "  It  is 
time.  We  will  go."  So  he  had  his  horses  packed, 
and  with  his  immediate  family  and  the  old  man, 
started  north  toward  the  Pawnee  country.  At  this 
time  he  was  called  Kut-a'wi-kutz-u  si-ti'-da-rit,  which 
means  "See  !  The  Hawk."  When  going  into  battle 
he  would  ride  straight  out  to  strike  his  enemy,  and 
the  Comanches  who  were  looking  at  him  would  say, 
"See  !  The  Hawk."  So  that  became  his  name. 

They  traveled  a  long  time  until  they  came  to  the 
Pawnee  ground.  As  they  were  traveling  along,  they 
came  to  a  field  where  were  growing  corn,  beans  and 
squashes.  The  Pawnee  said  to  the  old  man,  "  Grand 
father,  look  at  that  field.  There  are  the  things  that 
you  have  desired  to  eat."  He  got  off  his  horse  and 
went  into  the  field,  and  pulled  some  corn,  some  beans 
and  some  squashes,  and  took  them  to  the  old  man, 


42  Hero  Stories. 

and  gave  them  to  him.  The  old  man  supposed 
they  were  to  be  eaten  just  as  they  were,  and 
he  tried  to  bite  the  squashes.  This  made  the 
Pawnee  laugh.  When  they  came  to  the  village, 
the  Pawnees  were  very  glad  to  see  him  who  had  been 
lost  long  ago.  He  told  the  people  that  he  had 
brought  these  Indians  to  eat  of  the  corn  and  other 
things;  that  they  were  his  kinsfolk.  He  told  them, 
too,  about  the  young  man  who  had  killed  himself. 
His  relations  went  out  into  the  fields,  and  gathered 
corn  and  beans  and  squashes,  and  cooked  them  for 
the  Comanches. 

They  stayed  there  a  long  time  at  the  Pawnee  vil 
lage.  When  they  were  getting  ready  to  return,  the 
Pawnees  dried  their  corn,  and  gave  a  great  deal  of  it 
to  the  Comanches,  packing  many  horses  with  it  for 
the  Indians  at  home.  Then  the  Comanches  started 
south  again,  and  some  of  the  Pawnee  young  men, 
relations  of  Kut-dwi-kutz,  joined  him,  and  went  back 
with  them.  After  they  had  returned  to  the  Coman- 
che  camp,  the  old  grandfather  died,  happy  because 
he  had  eaten  the  things  he  wanted  to  eat. 

Soon  after  this,  Kut  a'wi-kutz  started  back  to  the 
Pawnee  village,  and  some  young  men  of  the  Coman 
ches  joined  him.  Some  time  after  reaching  the  vil- 


Comanchc  Chief,  the  Peace-Maker.  43 

lage  he  went  south  again,  accompanied  by  some 
young  Pawnees,  but  leaving  most  of  the  Comanches 
behind.  He  had  arranged  with  the  chiefs  of  the 
Pawnees  that  they  should  journey  south,  meet  the 
Comanches  on  the  plains  and  make  peace.  When 
he  reached  the  Comanches,  the  whole  village  started 
north  to  visit  the  Pawnees,  and  met  them  on  their 
way  south.  When  they  met,  the  two  tribes  made 
friends,  smoked  together,  ate  together,  became 
friends. 

After  they  had  camped  together  for  some  time, 
some  Comanches  stayed  in  the  Pawnee  camp,  and 
some  Pawnees  in  the  Comanche  camp.  Kut-a'wi- 
kutz  was  called  by  the  Pawnees  Comanche  Chief. 
He  would  have  remained  with  the  Comanches,  but 
when  he  went  back  with  them  his  wife  fell  sick.  The 
Comanche  doctors  could  not  help  her,  and  he  wanted 
to  take  her  north  to  see  the  Pawnee  doctors,  but  the 
Comanches  would  not  let  him.  They  kept  him  there, 
and  his  wife  died.  Then  he  was  angry,  for  he 
thought  if  he  had  taken  her  north  her  life  might 
have  been  saved. 

So  he  left  the  Comanches,  and  went  and  lived  with 
the  Pawnees,  and  was  known  among  them  always  as 
Comanche  Chief,  the  Peace-Maker,  because  he  made 


44 


Hero  Stories. 


peace  between  the  Pawnees  and  Comanches.  He 
was  chief  of  the  Ski'-di  band,  and  a  progressive  man 
of  modern  times.  He  sent  his  children  East  tc 
school  at  Carlisle,  Pa. 

Comanche  Chief  died  September  9th,  1888. 


PAWNEE    PIPE. 


LONE     CHIEF. 
SKUR'-AR-A    LE'-SHAR. 


LONE  CHIEF  was  the  son  of  the  chief  of  the 
Kit-ke-hahk'-i  band.  His  father  died  when  the 
boy  was  very  young,  less  than  a  year  old.  Until  he 
was  old  enough  to  go  to  war,  his  mother  had  sup 
ported  him  by  farming — raising  corn,  beans  and 
pumpkins.  She  taught  the  boy  many  things,  and  ad 
vised  him  how  to  live  and  how  to  act  so  that  he  might 
be  successful.  She  used  to  say  to  him,  "  You  must 
trust  always  in  Ti-ra'-wa.  He  made  us,  and  through 
him  we  live.  When  you  grow  up,  you  must  be  a  man. 
Be  brave,  and  face  whatever  danger  may  meet  you. 
Do  not  forget,  when  you  look  back  to  your  young 
days,  that  I  have  raised  you,  and  always  supported 
you.  You  had  no  father  to  do  it.  Your  father  was 


46  Hero  Stones. 

a  chief,  but  you  must  not  think  of  that.     Because  he 

was  a  chief,  it  does  not  follow  that  you  will  be  one. 

/It  is  not  the  man  who  stays  in  the  lodge  that  becomes 

/  great;  it  is  the  man  who  works,  who  sweats,  who  is 

\always  tired  from  going  on  the  warpath." 

Much  good  advice  his  mother  gave  him.  She 
said.  "When  you  get  to  be  a  man,  remember  that  it 
is  his  ambition  that  makes  the  man.  If  you  go  on 
the  warpath,  do  not  turn  around  when  you  have  gone 
part  way,  but  go  on  as  far  as  you  were  going,  and 
then  come  back.  If  I  should  live  to  see  you  become 
a  man,  I  want  you  to  become  a  great  man.  I  want 
you  to  think  about  the  hard  times  we  have  been 
through.  Take  pity  on  people  who  are  poor,  be 
cause  we  have  been  poor,  and  people  have  taken 
pity  on  us.  If  I  live  to  see  you  a  man^  and  to  go  off 
on  the  warpath,  I  would  not  cry  if  I  were  to  hear  that 
you  had  been  killed  in  battle.  That  is  what  makes  a 
man:  to  fight  and  to  be  brave.  I  should  be  sorry  to 

see  you  die  from  sickness.     If  you  are  killed,  I  would 

» 

rather  have  you  die  in  the  open  air,  so  that  the  birds 
of  the  air  will  eat  your  flesh,  and  the  wind  will 
breathe  on  you  and  blow  over  your  bones.  It  is 
better  to  be  killed  in  the  open  air  than  to  be 
smothered  in  the  earth.  (Love  your  friend  and 


Lone  Chief.  47 

never  desert  him!  If  you  see  him  surrounded  by  the 
enemy,  do  not  run  away.  Go  to  him,  and  if  you 
cannot  save  him,  be  killed  together,  and  let  your 
bones  lie  side  by  side.  Be  killed  on  a  hill;  high  up. 
Your  grandfather  said  it  is  not  manly  to  be  killed  in 
a  hollow.  It  is  not  a  man  who  is  talking  to  you, 
advising  you.  Heed  my  words,  even  if  I  am  a 
woman." 

The  boy  listened  to  these  words,  and  he  did  not 

forget  them. 

n. 

In  the  year  1867  he  enlisted  in  the  Pawnee  Scouts 
under  Major  Frank  North,  and  served  in  L.  H. 
North's  company.  He  was  always  a  good  soldier, 
ready,  willing  and  brave.  At  a  fight  near  the  Chey 
enne  Pass  in  1867,  he  counted  coup  on  a  woman  and 
a  man,  Arapahoes  who  had  stolen  some  horses  at 
Fort  Laramie. 

At  this  time  the  boy's  name  was  Wi-ti-ti  le-shar- 
uspi,  Running  Chief.  After  he  came  back  from  this 
scout,  he  went  on  a  war  party  of  which  Left  Hand 
was  the  leader,  and  they  went  to  the  Osage  country. 
He  was  no  longer  a  servant,  but  a  scout,  a  leading 
man  in  the  party,  one  of  those  who  went  ahead  a:; 
spies.  He  had  good  judgment  and  understood  his 


48  Hero  Stories. 

duties.  When  they  came  to  the  Osage  country,  he 
was  selected  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  a  small  branch 
party  to  steal  horses.  His  party  took  thirty  head  of 
horses.  In  the  Osage  country  the  young  men  were 
not  allowed  to  take  all  the  horses  they  could.  On 
account  of  the  few  fords  where  they  could  cross  the 
streams,  they  could  not  take  a  big  herd,  but  only 
what  they  could  ride  and  lead,  and  at  the  same 
time  go  fast.  Across  one  river  there  was  only  one 
rocky  ford,  and  over  another  stream  with  deep  banks 
there  was  only  one  rocky  ford  where  they  could  cross. 
Because  they  did  not  know  this,  in  former  times 
many  Pawnees  had  been  caught  and  killed  in  the 
Osage  country.  So  now  they  took  but  few  horses  at 
a  time,  because  these  rivers  were  very  deep  and  no 
one  could  cross  them  except  at  these  rock  fords. 
Out  of  the  horses  taken  at  this  time  Running  Chief 
obtained  one  of  the  best  and  fastest  ever  known 
among  the  Pawnees — a  cream-colored  horse,  long 
famous  in  the  tribe.  For  his  skillful  leadership  of 
this  party  he  was  given  much  credit. 

After  returning  home — the  same  year — he  led  a 
party  to  go  off  on  the  warpath  to  the  Cheyennes. 
He  found  a  camp  on  the  headwaters  of  the  North 
Canadian,  and  his  party  took  seven  horses,  but  these 


Lone  Chief.  49 

horses  looked  thin  and  rough,  and  he  was  not  satis 
fied  with  them;  he  was  ashamed  to  go  home  with 
only  these.  He  told  his  party  to  take  them  home, 
but  that  he  was  going  off  by  himself  to  get  some 
better  ones.  He  had  with  him  a  friend,  with  whom 
he  had  grown  up,  and  whom  he  loved.  This  young^ 
man  was  like  a  brother  to  Running  Chief.  These 
two  went  off  together,  and  went  to  the  Osage  camp, 
and  staid  about  it  for  three  nights,  and  then  took  five 
horses,  the  best  in  the  camp.  They  took  them  back 
to  the  village.  It  was  customary  for  the  leading 
man  in  a  party  to  make  a  sacrifice  to  Ti-ra'-wa. 
Running  Chief  did  this,  giving  one  horse  to  the 
chief  priest.  This  sacrifice  promoted  him  to  be  a 

warrior. 

in. 

The  next  year  he  led  a  party  again  to  the  Osage 
country.  He  took  some  horses  and  brought  them 
home.  This  same  year  (1868)  a  party  started  south. 
He  was  not  the  leader,  but  he  went  with  them.  They 
went  to  the  Wichita,  Comanche  and  Kiowa  vil 
lages — they  were  all  camped  together — stole  some 
horses  and  started  back  with  them.  Before  they  had 
gone  very  far  Running  Chief  stopped  and  said  he 
was  going  back.  His  friend  was  with  the  party,  and 


50  Hero  Stories. 

when  he  found  that  Running  Chief  had  resolved  to 
go  back  he  said,  "I  will  stop  here  with  you." 

The  two  went  back  toward  the  village  that  they 
had  just  left,  and  climbed  a  hill  that  stood  near  it, 
and  hid  themselves  there.  They  waited,  watching, 
for  they  had  not  decided  what  they  would  do.  The 
next  day  in  the  afternoon  they  began  to  get  hungry, 
and  they  began  to  talk  together.  Running  Chief 
said  to  his  friend,  "  My  brother,  are  you  poor  in 
your  mind  ?*  Do  you  feel  like  doing  some  great 
thing — something  that  is  very  dangerous?" 

His  friend  answered  at  once,  "  Yes,  I  am  poor. 
I  am  ready.  Why  do  you  ask  me?" 

Running  Chief  thought  a  little  while  before  he 
answered,  and  as  he  thought,  all  the  pain  and  suffer 
ing  of  his  life  seemed  to  rise  up  before  him,  so  that 
he  could  see  it.  He  remembered  how  he  had  been 
a  poor  boy,  supported  by  his  mother,  and  all  that 
they  two  had  suffered  together  while  he  was  yet  a 
child.  He  remembered  how  his  sister  had  been 
killed  when  he  was  a  boy  only  ten  years  old,  and  how 
he  had  mourned  for  her,  when  her  husband,  who  was 
jealous  of  her,  had  shot  her  through  the  body  with 
an  arrow  and  killed  her.  She  was  the  only  sister  he 

*Poor  in  mind;  i.  e.,  despondent,  unhappy,  miserable. 


Lone  Chief.  51 

had,  and  he  had  loved  her.  He  felt  that  he  was  poor 
now,  and  that  there  was  no  hope  of  anything 
better  for  him,  and  he  did  not  want  to  live  any 
longer.  After  he  had  thought  of  all  these  things  he 
said  to  his  friend,  "My  life  is  not  worth  anything  to 
me;"  and  then  he  told  him  of  his  bad  feelings. 
Finally  he  said,  "  Now  you  go  off  and  leave  me  here 
alone.  I  am  tired  of  living,  but  you  go  home.  You 
have  relations  who  would  mourn  for  you.  I  do  not 
want  you  to  lose  your  life  on  my  account." 

His  friend  answered  him,  "I  will  not  go  away 
from  you.  We  have  grown  up  together,  and  I  will 
stick  to  you.  Wherever  you  go  I  will  go,  and  what 
ever  you  do  I  will  do." 

Then  Running  Chief  meditated  for  a  long  time. 
He  had  not  made  up  his  mind  what  to  do.  He 
thought  to  himself,  "This,  my  friend,  will  stay  with 
me.  I  do  not  want  to  be  the  cause  of  his  death." 
So  he  considered.  Finally  he  said  to  his  friend,  "If 
I  shall  make  up  my  mind  to  go  to  some  place  where 
there  is  great  danger,  I  shall  go." 

His  friend  said,  "I  will  go  with  you." 

Running  Chief  thought  again,  and  at  last  he  said; 
"  On  account  of  my  feelings  I  have  decided  to  go  into 
the  camp  of  my  enemies,  and  be  eaten  by  their  dogs/' 


52  Hero  Stories. 

The  other  man  said,  "  Whatever  you  have  deter 
mined  on  I  also  will  do." 

IV. 

Then  they  jumped  up  out  of  the  hole  they  were 
hiding  in,  and  tied  up  their  waists,  and  prepared  to 
start.  They  were  not  very  far  from  a  trail  which 
connected  two  villages,  along  which  persons  kept 
passing,  and  the  Indians  of  these  villages  were  all 
about  them.  When  they  jumped  up  to  go  toward 
the  trail,  they  saw  four  or  five  persons  passing  at  a 
little  distance.  When,  they  saw  these  people,  Run 
ning  Chief  called  out  to  them,  "High — eig/i,"  and 
made  motions  for  them  to  come  to  him.  He  wanted 
to  show  his  strong  will,  and  that  on  account  of  his 
bad  feelings  he  wished  to  have  his  troubles  ended 
right  there.  He  called  to  them  twice,  and  each  time 
the  Indians  stopped  and  looked  at  the  Pawnees,  and 
then  went  on.  They  did  not  know  who  it  was  that 
was  calling  them;  perhaps  they  thought  the  Pawnees 
were  two  squaws. 

The  two  young  men  went  out  to  the  trail  and  fol 
lowed  these  persons  toward  the  village.  They  went 
over  a  little  hill,  and  as  soon  as  they  had  come  to  the 
top  and  looked  over  it,  they  saw  the  village.  On  this 


Lone  Chief.  53 

side  of  it,  and  nearest  to  them  were  three  lodges.  At 
the  foot  of  the  hill  was  a  river,  which  they  must  cross 
to  come  to  these  three  lodges.  When  they  came  to 
the  river,  the  friend  asked 9  "Shall  we  take  off  our 
moccasins  and  leggings  to  cross  ?"  Running  Chief 
replied,  "Why  should  I  take  off  my  moccasins  and 
leggings  when  I  know  that  my  life  is  just  going  over 
a  precipice?  Let  us  go  in  as  we  are."  So  they 
crossed  with  moccasins  and  leggings  on.  The  river 
was  only  half-leg  deep. 

Just  as  they  reached  the  further  bank,  all  on  a 
sudden,  it  came  over  Running  Chief  what  they  were 
doing — that  they  were  going  to  certain  death.  All 
his  courage  seemed  to  leave  him,  and  he  felt  as  if  he 
had  no  bones  in  his  body.  Then  for  a  moment  he 
faltered;  but  he  could  not  give  up  now.  He  felt 
that  if  he  was  a  man  he  must  go  forward;  he  could 
not  turn  back.  He  stopped  for  an  instant;  and  his 
friend  looked  at  him,  and  said,  "  Come,  let  us  hurry 
on.  We  are  near  the  lodges."  He  stepped  forward 
then,  but  his  feet  seemed  to  be  heavy  and  to  drag  on 
the  ground.  He  walked  as  if  he  were  asleep. 

There  was  no  one  about  near  at  hand,  and  as  they 
went  forward  Running  Chief  prayed  with  all  his 
mind  to  Ti-ra'-wa  that  no  one  might  come  until  they 


54  Hero  Stories. 

had  reached  the  lodge,  and  had  got  inside.  When 
they  had  got  to  within  about  one  hundred  yards  of 
the  lodge,  a  little  boy  came  out,  and  began  to  play 
around  the  door,  and  when  they  were  about  fifty 
yards  from  him  he  saw  them.  As  soon  as  he  looked 
at  them,  he  knew  that  they  did  not  belong  to  the 
camp,  and  he  gave  a  kind  of  a  scream  and  darted 
into  the  lodge,  but  no  one  came  out.  The  people 
within  paid  no  attention  to  the  boy.  As  they  walked 
toward  the  lodges  Running  Chief  seemed  not  to 
know  where  he  was,  but  to  be  walking  in  a  dream. 
He  thought  of  nothing  except  his  longing  to  get  to 
this  lodge. 

They  went  to  the  largest  of  the  three  lodges. 
Running  Chief  raised  the  door  and  put  his  head  in, 
and  as  he  did  so,  it  seemed  as  if  his  breath  stopped. 
He  went  in  and  sat  down  far  back  in  the  lodge, 
opposite  the  entrance,  and  though  his  breath  was 
stopped,  his  heart  was  beating  like  a  drum.  His 
friend  had  followed  him  in,  and  sat  down  beside 
him.  Both  had  their  bows  in  their  hands,  strung, 
and  a  sheaf  of  arrows. 

When  they  entered  the  lodge,  the  man  who  was 
lying  down  at  the  back  of  the  lodge  uttered  a  loud 
exclamation,  "  Woof''  and  then  seemed  struck  dumb. 


Lone  Chief.  55 

A  plate  of  corn  mush  had  just  been  handed  him,  but 
he  did  not  take  it,  and  it  sat  there  on  the  ground  by 
him.  One  woman  was  just  raising  a  buffalo  horn 
spoon  of  mush  to  her  mouth,  but  her  hand  stopped 
before  reaching  it,  and  she  stared  at  them,  holding 
the  mush  before  her  face.  Another  woman  was 
ladling  some  mush  into  a  plate,  and  she  held  the 
plate  in  one  hand  and  the  ladle  above  it,  and  looked 
at  them  without  moving.  They  all  seemed  turned 
into  stone. 

As  the  two  Pawnees  sat  there,  Running  Chief's 
breath  suddenly  came  back  to  him.  Before  it  had 
all  been  dark  about  him,  as  if  he  had  been  asleep; 
but  now  the  clouds  had  cleared  away,  and  he  could 
see  the  road  ahead  of  him.  Now  he  felt  a  man,  and 
brave.  As  he  looked  around  him,  and  saw  the  man 
lying  motionless,  and  one  woman  just  ready  to  take 
a  mouthful,  and  the  other  woman  with  the  ladle  held 
over  the  dish,  he  perceived  that  they  could  not  move, 
they  were  so  astonished. 

At  length  the  Wichita  had  come  to  his  senses. 
He  drew  a  long  breath,  and  sat  up,  and  for  a  while 
looked  at  the  two  Pawnees.  Then  he  made  some 
sign  to  them  which  they  did  not  understand,  but 
they  guessed  that  he  was  trying  to  ask  who  they 


56  Hero  Stories. 

were.  Running  Chief  struck  his  breast,  and  said, 
"Pt-ta'-da"  (Pawnee).  As  soon  as  the  Wichita 
heard  that  he  caught  his  breath,  and  heaved  a  long 
sigh.  He  did  not  know  what  to  think  of  two  Paw 
nees  coming  into  his  lodge.  He  could  not  think 
what  it  meant.  He  drew  a  long  breath.  He  did 
not  touch  his  plate  of  food,  but  motioned  a  woman 
to  take  it  away.  Presently  he  called  to  some  one  in 
the  neighboring  lodge.  He  was  answered,  and  in  a 
moment  a  man  came  in.  He  called  again,  and  an 
other  entered,  and  the  three  looked  for  a  long  time 
at  the  two  Pawnees.  These  were  sitting  motionless, 
but  watching  like  two  wildcats  to  see  what  was  going 
to  happen.  Each  had  his  bow  and  arrows  by  his 
side,  and  his  knife  inside  his  robe.  At  length  the 
owner  of  the  lodge  spoke,  and  one  of  the  men  went 
out,  and  after  a  little  they  heard  the  sound  of  horses' 
hoofs  coming,  and  they  supposed  some  one  was  rid 
ing  up.  Every  now  and  then  Running  Chief  would 
touch  his  friend's  knee  with  his  own,  as  if  to  say, 
"Watch." 

The  owner  of  the  lodge  made  a  sign  and  pointed 
to  the  east  and  said  "  Capitan"*  At  the  same  time 
he  was  dressing  himself  up,  putting  on  a  pair  of 

*A  Spanish  word  meaning  chief. 


Lone  Chief.  57 

* 

officer's  trousers  and  a  uniform  coat.  Meantime  the 
Pawnees  heard  the  rattle  of  one  saddle,  and  then  of 
another.  The  Wichita  chief  put  on  his  blanket,  and 
his  pistol  belt  around  it,  and  then  made  signs  for 
them  to  go  out.  He  led  the  way,  and  the  Pawnees 
followed.  As  they  went,  Running  Chief  touched  his 
friend,  as  if  to  say,  "  Watch.  They  may  shoot  us  as 
we  go  out."  But  when  they  looked  out  of  the  lodge, 
the  Wichita  was  walking  toward  the  horses,  so  there 
was  no  danger.  He  mounted  a  horse,  and  signed  to 
Running  Chief  to  get  up  behind  him.  Another  man 
mounted  the  other  horse,  and  the  friend  got  up 
behind  him. 

As  they  rode  toward  the  main  village,  it  came  into 
the  mind  of  Running  Chief  to  kill  the  man  he  was 
riding  behind,  and  to  ride  away.  There  was  where 
he  had  to  fight  his  hardest  battle.  He  was  tempted 
to  kill  this  man  in  front  of  him,  but  he  was  not  over 
powered  by  this  temptation.  He  overcame  it.  He 
thought  that  perhaps  he  might  be  mounted  on  a 
poor  horse,  and  even  if  he  did  kill  this  man  and  his 
friend  the  other,  they  might  be  on  slow  horses  and 
be  caught  at  once.  Every  little  while  he  would  look 
at  his  friend  and  roll  his  eyes,  as  if  to  say,  "Watch 
on  your  side  and  I  will  watch  on  mine." 


58  Hero  Stories. 

* 

As  he  came  near  to  the  village,  the  Wichita  war 
rior  called  out,  and  began  to  sing  a  song,  and  all 
at  once  the  village  was  in  an  uproar.  The  men, 
women  and  children  seemed  to  start  up  out  of  the 
ground,  and  the  lodges  poured  forth  their  inmates. 
Running  Chief  felt  that  he  was  in  danger,  but  he 
knew  that  he  was  not  in  as  much  danger  as  the  man 
before  him.  He  could  take  the  pistol  out  of  the  belt 
that  he  had  hold  of  and  kill  him,  or  he  could  use  his 
own  knife.  The  Wichita  knew  that  he  was  in  danger. 
He  knew  that  he  was  in  the  power  of  the  enemy. 

After  the  Wichita  had  called  out  to  the  people 
that  they  had  enemies  with  them,  he  kept  on  talking, 
saying,  "Keep  quiet.  Do  not  do  anything.  Wait. 
Keep  away  from  me  and  be  still.  I  am  in  danger." 
They  would  not  have  listened  to  him,  if  it  had  not 
been  that  he  was  a  leading  man,  and  a  brave  warrior. 
The  riders  came  to  the  largest  lodge,  which  stood 
in  the  middle  of  the  village.  Here  they  stopped. 
When  Running  Chief  got  off  the  horse,  he  held  tightly 
the  belt  of  the  Wichita,  who  dismounted;  and  they 
went  together  into  the  lodge  of  the  Head  Chief,  and 
the  others  followed  and  went  in,  and  all  sat  down 
opposite  the  door.  All  this  time  there  was  a  hubbub 
outside.  People  were  flying  from  their  lodges  to 


Lone  Chief.  59 

that  of  the  Head  Chief,  and  lifting  up  the  edge  of 
the  lodge,  and  peeping  under  it  at  the  Pawnees. 
They  chattered  to  each  other,  and  called  out  to 
those  who  were  coming;  all  was  noise  and  con 
fusion. 

v. 

The  under  chiefs  came  in  one  by  one,  until  all 
were  present.  Then  one  of  them  made  a  speech, 
saying  that  it  would  be  best  to  leave  everything  to 
the  Head  Chief,  and  that  he  should  decide  what 
ought  to  be  done  with  these  enemies.  Then  it  was 
silent  for  a  time,  while  the  Chief  was  making  up  his 
mind  what  should  be  done;  and  during  this  silence 
Running  Chief  felt  a  touch  on  his  shoulder,  and 
looked  behind  him,  and  there  was  handed  to  him 
under  the  edge  of  the  lodge  a  dish  of  meat.  He 
took  it  and  began  to  eat,  and  his  companion  also 
ate  with  him.  After  he  had  eaten  a  few  mouthfuls, 
he  took  his  arrows,  which  he  had  held  in  his  hand, 
and  put  them  in  his  quiver,  and  unstrung  his  bow 
and  laid  it  aside,  and  his  friend  did  the  same. 

Then  the  Chief  stood  up  and  spoke  to  those  sit 
ting  there  and  said,  "What  can  I  do?  They  have 
eaten  of  my  food.  I  cannot  make  war  on  people 
who  have  been  eating  with  me."  While  he  was  say- 


60  Hero  Stories. 

ing  this,  Running  Chief  was  again  touched  on  the 
shoulder,  and  some  one  handed  him  a  cup  of  water, 
and  he  drank;  and  the  Chief,  as  he  saw  this,  added, 
"and  have  also  drunk  of  my  water."  He  then 
turned  and  called  to  a  certain  man,  who  could 
speak  Pawnee,  and  told  him  to  ask  these  men  if 
they  were  on  the  warpath.  He  asked  them,  "Are 
you  on  the  warpath?"  and  they  replied,  "Yes,  we 
are  on  the  warpath." 

Then  said  he,  "What  are  you  here  for?" 

Running  Chief  answered,  "You  have  plenty  of 
dogs.  I  am  here  that  my  body  may  be  eaten  by 
them." 

When  the  Wichitas  heard  this  they  all  made  a 
sound,  Ah-h-h-h!  for  they  were  surprised  at  his 
bravery.  The  Chief  asked  him,  "Do  you  know 
anything  about  the  horses  that  were  missed  last 
night?" 

He  said,  "Yes." 

"Where  are  they?"  said  the  Head  Chief. 

Running  Chief  replied,  "  The  party  have  gone  off 
with  them — Pawnees." 

"Were  you  with  them?" 

"Yes,  I  was  with  them,  and  I  stopped  behind  on 
purpose  to  come  into  your  village." 


Lone  Chief.  61 

The  Head  Chief  then  turned  to  the  others  and 
talked  for  a  little  while.  He  said,  "See  what  a 
brave  man  this  is.  He  had  resolved  to  die.  But  he 
shall  not  die,  because  he  has  eaten  our  food  and 
drunk  of  our  water.  Although  we  are  enemies  of 
this  man's  tribe,  yet  we  are  the  same  people  with 
them,  who  have  been  apart  for  a  long  time.  I  cannot 
help  it;  my  heart  is  touched  by  his  talk  and  by  their 
bravery.  By  their  bravery  they  are  safe."  And  all 
the  Wichitas  said  "Waugh" 

Then  the  Head  Chief  through  the  interpreter 
talked  to  Running  Chief.  He  said,  "Are  you  a 
chief?" 

Running  Chief  replied,  "  No,  I  am  not  a  chief;  I 
am  like  a  dog;  I  arn  poor." 

The  Head  Chief  said  to  him,  "By  your  bravery 
you  have  saved  yourselves.  You  shall  have  the  road 
to  your  home  made  white  before  you.  Let  there  not 
be  one  blood  spot  on  it."  Then  he  turned  to  those 
who  were  sitting  about  the  lodge  and  said,  "  Now, 
my  young  men,  do  something  for  them." 

A  young  man  named  Crazy  Wolf  stood  up  and 
spoke;  and  when  he  had  finished,  the  interpreter 
said,  "  That  man  has  given  you  a  black  horse,  the 
best  that  he  has." 


6  a  Hero  Stories. 

Another  young  man  on  the  other  side  of  the  lodge 
spoke,  and  the  interpreter  said,  "He  has  given  you 
a  roan  horse,  the  best  that  he  has."  Then  all  the 
Wichitas  began  to  speak  at  once,  and  before  they 
knew  it,  the  Pawnees  had  ten  head  of  horses,  and 
robes  and  blankets,  saddles,  bridles,  shields,  spears 
and  moccasins — many  beautiful  presents.  So  they 
were  well  provided. 

The  Head  Chief  again  stood  up  and  talked  to  the 
assembly,  praising  these  Pawnees;  and  he  stepped 
over  to  Running  Chief  and  shook  hands  with  him, 
and  when  he  did  so,  Running  Chief  stood  up  and 
put  his  arms  around  the  Chief  and  pressed  him  to  his 
breast,  and  the  Chief  did  the  same  to  him,  and  when 
Running  Chief  had  his  arms  around  the  Chief,  the 
Chief  trembled,  and  came  near  to  crying.  The  Chief 
embraced  the  other  Pawnee,  and  looked  him  in  the 
face  and  said,  "What  brave  men  you  are !" 

The  friend  said,  "  What  my  friend  stepped,  that  I 
stepped;  I  trod  in  his  footprints;  I  had  one  mind 
with  him." 

As  the  Chief  stepped  back  to  his  place  he  spoke 
through  the  interpreter,  "Now  you  have  eaten  of  my 
food  and  drunk  of  my  water.  Everything  that  I 
have  is  yours.  My  women  and  my  children  are 


Lone  Chief.  63 

yours.  You  are  not  a  chief,  but  you  are  a  chief."* 
Then  he  spoke  to  the  crowd  and  they  all  went  away, 
leaving  only  the  principal  men  in  the  lodge. 

That  afternoon  the  Pawnees  were  feasted  every 
where,  and  had  to  eat  till  they  were  almost  dead; 
and  as  they  went  about,  all  of  their  former  sadness 
seemed  to  be  swept  away,  and  Running  Chief  felt 
like  crying  for  joy. 

While  they  were  feasting,  the  man  who  had  given 
the  black  horse  went  out,  and  caught  it  up,  and 
painted  it  handsomely,  and  rode  into  the  village,  and 
put  on  it  a  silver  bridle,  and  eagle  feathers  in  its 
mane  and  tail,  and  when  Running  Chief  was  going 
from  one  lodge  to  another  he  met  him,  and  jumped 
off  the  horse  and  said,  "  Brother,  ride  this."  He  gave 
him  also  a  shield  and  a  spear. 

These  Pawnees  staid  two  months  with  the  Wichitas, 
and  all  their  troubles  seemed  at  an  end.  At  length 
Running  Chief  called  a  council  of  the  chiefs,  and 
told  them  that  now  he  wished  to  make  ready  to  go 
home  to  his  village.  He  thanked  them  for  all  that 
they  had  done  for  him,  and  said  that  now  he  would 
go.  The  chiefs  said,  "  It  is  well.  We  are  glad  that 

*  You  are  not  a  chief,  but  you  have  made  yourself  a  chief  by 
your  great  qualities. 


6  4  Hero  Stories. 

you  have  been  with  us  and  visited  us.  Take  the 
good  news  back  to  your  tribe.  Tell  them  that  we  are 
one  people,  though  long  separated.  Let  the  road 
between  our  villages  be  made  white.  Let  it  no  more 
show  any  spots  of  blood." 

Running  Chief  thanked  them  and  said,  "I  will  go 
and  take  the  good  news  to  my  people.  I  shall  show 
them  the  presents  you  have  made  us,  and  tell  them 
how  well  we  have  been  treated.  It  maybe  that  some 
of  the  chiefs  of  my  tribe  will  wish  to  come  down  to 
visit  you,  as  I  have  done."  The  Head  Chief  said, 
"  Can  I  rely  on  your  words,  that  I  shall  be  visited  ? " 
Running  Chief  replied,  "You  can  rely  on  them  if  I 
have  to  come  alone  to  visit  you  again."  The  Chief 
got  up  and  put  his  arms  about  him,  and  said,  "  I 
want  to  be  visited.  Let  there  be  no  more  war 
between  us.  We  are  brothers;  let  us  always  be 
brothers."  Then  they  gave  him  many  more  presents, 
and  packed  his  horses,  and  six  braves  offered  to  go 
with  him  through  the  Cheyenne  country.  They  went 
through  in  the  night.  Running  Chief  said  afterward, 
"I  could  have  stolen  a  lot  of  horses  from  the  Chey- 
ennes,  but  I  thought,  I  will  be  coming  back  through 
this  country  and  it  is  better  not." 

At  the  Pawnee  village  these  two  young  men  had 


Lone  Chief.  65 

been  mourned  by  their  relations  as  lost  or  dead.  It 
was  in  the  spring  (March,  1869)  when  they  reached 
home,  and  there  was  joy  in  the  tribe  when  they  came 
in  with  the  presents.  Running  Chief  was  praised, 
and  so  was  his  friend.  Both  had  been  brave  and  had 
done  great  things. 

Now  Running  Chief's  name  was  changed  from 
Wi-ti-ti  le-shar' -uspi  to  Sku'r-ar-a  le-shar  (Lone 
Chief). 

VI. 

The  following  summer  in  August,  at  the  close  of 
the  summer  hunt,  three  hundred  Pawnees,  old  men 
and  young,  under  the  leadership  of  Lone  Chief, 
visited  the  Wichitas,  who  received  them  well,  and 
gave  them  many  horses.  Lone  Chief  was  not  satis 
fied  with  the  peace  that  he  had  made  with  the 
Wichitas.  He  also  visited  the  Kiowas,  and  made 
peace,  and  was  given  by  them  eight  fine  horses.  He 
also  led  his  party  to  the  Comanches,  and  visited 
them,  and  got  many  presents.  In  the  fall  the  Paw 
nees  returned  to  their  village.  Many  of  them  fell 
sick  on  the  way,  and  some  died. 

In  the  winter  of  1869-70  Lone  Chief  and  his  friend 
led  a  war  party  against  the  Cheyennes.  They  took 
six  hundred  head  of  horses.  The  Cheyennes  now 


66  Hero  Stories. 

tell  us  that  in  the  seventy-five  lodges  of  that  camp 
there  was  not  left  a  hoof.  All  night  and  all  next  day 
they  ran  the  herd.  Then  Lone  Chief  said,  "  Let  us 
not  run  the  horses  any  longer,  they  will  not  come 
after  us;  they  are  afoot."  When  the  party  got  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Republican,  on  the  table  lands, 
a  terrible  storm  of  snow  and  wind  came  upon  them, 
and  they  were  nearly  lost.  For  three  days  and  three 
nights  they  lay  in  the  storm.  All  were  frozen,  some 
losing  toes  and  fingers.  They  survived,  however, 
and  brought  in  all  their  horses.  Again  Lone  Chief 
sacrificed  to  Ti-ra'-wa.  A  second  sacrifice  is  very 
unusual  and  a  notable  event. 


OLD-FASHIONED    "  T.  GRAY"  AX. 


THE    PRISONERS    OF    COURT 
HOUSE    ROCK. 

COURT  HOUSE  ROCK  is  a  high,  square- 
shaped  bluff,  or  butte,  on  the  North  Platte 
River.  It  is  composed  of  a  hard,  yellowish  clay, 
which  is  but  slowly  eroded  by  the  weather,  though 
soft  enough  to  be  cut  readily  with  a  knife.  On  all 
sides  except  one,  this  rock  or  butte  is  nearly  or  quite 
vertical,  and  its  sides,  smoothed  and  polished  by  the 
wind  and  the  rain,  offer  no  projecting  points,  to 
serve  as  foot  or  hand  holds  for  one  who  might  wish 
to  climb  up  or  down.  On  one  side  there  is  a  way  by 
which  an  active  man  may  reach  the  summit,  where 
he  finds  a  flat  tableland  of  moderate  extent. 

A  number  of  years  ago  a  war  party  of  Skidi,  who 
were  camped  near  Court  House  Rock,  were  surprised 
by  a  party  of  Sioux.  There  were  many  of  them,  and 
they  drove  the  Skidi  back,  and  at  length  these  were 


68  Hero  Stories. 

obliged  to  climb  the  steep  side  of  Court  House  Rock. 
The  Sioux  dared  not  follow  them  up  on  to  the  rock, 
but  guarded  the  only  place  where  it  was  possible  to 
come  down,  and  camped  all  around  the  rock  below 
to  starve  the  Skidi  out.  The  Skidi  had  nothing  to 
eat  nor  to  drink,  and  suffered  terribly  from  hunger 
and  still  more  from  thirst.  The  leader  of  the  party 
suffered  most  of  any,  for  he  thought  that  he  would 
surely  lose  all  his  men.  He  felt  that  this  was  the 
worst  of  all.  He  must  not  only  die,  but  must  also  be 
disgraced,  because  under  his  leadership  the  young 
men  of  his  party  had  been  lost.  He  used  to  go  off 
at  night,  apart  from  the  others,  and  pray  to  Ti-ra'-wa 
for  help;  for  some  way  to  save  his  party. 

One  night  while  he  was  praying,  something  spoke 
to  him,  and  said,  "Look  hard  for  a  place  where  you 
may  get  down  from  this  rock,  and  so  save  both  your 
men  and  yourself."  He  kept  on  praying  that  night, 
and  when  day  came,  he  looked  all  along  the  edge  of 
the  rock  for  a  place  where  it  might  be  possible  to  get 
down.  At  last  he  found  near  the  edge  of  the  cliff  a 
point  of  the  soft  clay  rock  sticking  up  above  the  level 
of  the  rest.  The  side  of  the  rock  below  it  was  straight, 
up  and  down,  and  smooth.  At  night  he  took  his 
knife,  and  began  to  cut  about  the  base  of  this  point 


The  Prisoners  of  Court  House  Rock.          69 

of  rock,  and  night  after  night  he  kept  at  this  until  he 
had  cut  away  the  base  of  the  point,  so  that  it  was  no 
larger  around  than  a  man's  body.  Then  he  secretly 
took  all  the  lariats  that  the  party  had,  and  tied  them 
together,  and  let  them  down,  and  found  that  his  rope 
was  long  enough  to  reach  the  ground.  He  put  the 
rope  around  the  point,  and  made  a  loop  in  it  for  his 
feet,  and  slowly  let  himself  down  to  the  ground.  He 
got  there  safely,  and  then  climbed  back  again.  The 
next  night  he  called  his  men  about  him,  and  told 
them  how  it  was,  and  that  they  might  all  be  saved. 
Then  he  ordered  the  youngest  and  least  important 
man  of  the  party  to  let  himself  down,  and  after  him 
the  next  youngest,  and  so  on,  up  to  the  more  im 
portant  men,  and  last  of  all  the  leader's  turn  came. 
He  let  himself  down,  and  they  all  crept  through  the 
Sioux  camp  and  escaped. 

They  never  knew  how  long  the  Sioux  stayed  there 
watching  the  rock.  Probably  until  they  thought 
that  the  Skidi  had  all  starved  to  death. 


WOLVES    IN    THE    NIGHT. 

IN  the  year  1879  Little  Warrior,  with  aChau-i  boy 
and  a  soldier,  was  off  scouting  on  the  plains  east 
of  the  mountains.  They  saw  a  long  way  off — per 
haps  twenty  miles — some  objects  that  seemed  to  be 
moving.  It  was  one  of  those  hot  dry  days  in  sum 
mer,  when  all  the  air  is  quivering  and  all  things  are 
distorted  by  the  mirage.  They  watched  these  objects 
through  their  glasses  for  a  long  time.  They  seemed 
to  move  and  quiver,  and  they  could  not  tell  what 
they  were,  but  Little  Warrior  thought  they  were 
mounted  men.  They  seemed  to  be  traveling  in  the 
same  direction  with  this  scouting  party.  At  length 
they  could  see  that  they  were  mounted  men,  and 
were  driving  some  loose  animals. 

When  night  came,  the  two  Pawnees  left  their 
horses  with  the  soldier  and  started  on  foot  to  look 
for  the  camp  of  the  strangers,  and  to  find  out  who 


Wolves  in  the  Night.  71 

they  were.  They  formed  the  plan  to  make  them 
selves  look  like  coyotes,  so  that  they  could  go  close 
to  the  camp.  Each  took  from  under  his  saddle  a 
white  sheet,  which,  when  the  time  came,  they  would 
tie  around  their  bodies,  having  their  guns  inside, 
held  under  their  arms,  and  their  pistols  in  their  belts 
about  their  waists.  It  was  a  bright  moonlight  night, 
the  moon  being  so  bright  that  it  made  it  hard  to  see 
far  on  the  prairie. 

The  camp  was  found  in  a  little  hollow,  and  was 
occupied  by  seven  Ute  Indians.  They  had  a  dog 
with  them.  The  Pawnees  could  hear  them  talking 
and  laughing,  as  they  sat  about  the  big  fire  they  had 
built.  They  could  see  the  horses  too. 

The  men  put  on  their  white  sheets,  and  getting 
down  on  all  fours,  prowled  about  like  wolves,  gradu 
ally  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  camp.  Two 
or  three  times  the  dog  smelt  them  and  barked,  but 
they  paid  no  attention  to  it,  but  trotted  hither  and 
thither,  smelling  the  ground  and  sometimes  sitting 
up  on  their  haunches  like  wolves,  and  then  going  on 
again.  After  a  little  while  they  came  so  close  to  the 
camp  that  they  could  see  that  the  horses  were  staked 
out,  and  that  there  were  some  mules  feeding  about, 
hobbled.  One  of  the  Utes,  who  noticed  the  wolves 


72  Hero  Stories. 

prowling  near  the  camp,  got  his  gun  and  shot  at  the 
Chau-i  boy,  but  he  did  not  hit  him.  The  boy  loped 
off  and  joined  Little  Warrior  behind  a  hill,  and  there 
the  two  waited. 

Little  Warrior  said  to  his  companion,  "These  men 
have  come  far  to-day.  They  are  pretty  tired.  WTait 
and  they  will  lie  down  and  go  to  sleep."  Presently 
the  camp  quieted  down  and  the  Utes  slept. 

The  Pawnees  then  made  themselves  wolves  again, 
and  went  close  to  the  Ute  camp.  The  horses  were 
staked  close  to  where  the  men  were  sleeping,  but 
the  mules  had  wandered  off  a  little  to  one  side.  Six 
mules  were  together,  and  one  was  by  itself  on  the 
other  side  of  the  camp.  Little  Warrior  went  around 
the  camp  to  this  one,  and  cut  its  hobbles,  and  then 
drove  it  slowly  toward  the  others.  Then  they  drove 
the  whole  seven  quietly  away  from  the  camp.  If  it 
had  not  been  for  the  dog,  they  could  very  likely  have 
stolen  the  horses  too,  and  left  the  Utes  afoot,  and 
perhaps  they  might  have  been  able  to  kill  the  Utes. 

They  drove  the  'mules  about  two  miles,  and  then 
went  on  to  where  they  had  left  their  horses.  They 
found  the  soldier  nearly  frightened  to  death.  He 
said  he  did  not  like  to  be  left  by  himself  in  such  a 
lonely  place;  he  wanted  to  go  to  camp.  They  told 


Wolves  in  the  Night.  73 

him  they  were  going  to  return  and  get  those  mules. 
They  did  so,  and  secured  them,  and  drove  them  in 
to  their  own  camp,  which  they  reached  about  six 
o'clock  the  next  morning. 

It  was  learned  afterward  that  fourteen  mules  had 
been  stolen  from  a  Government  train,  and  a  reward 
of  $200  had  been  offered  for  their  recovery.  These 
taken  by  the  two  Pawnees  were  seven  of  the  stolen 
animals,  and  each  of  the  men  received  $50  as  his 
proportion  of  the  reward. 


WHIP. 


A    LEADER   OF    SOLDIERS. 

IN  1876,  when  the  attack  was  made  by  General 
Mackenzie  on  the  village  of  the  Cheyenne  chief, 
Dull  Knife,  the  Pawnee  Scouts  charged  down  on  the 
village  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek,  while  on  the 
north  side  of  the  stream,  a  company  of  United  States 
cavalry,  under  Lieut.  McKinney,  were  making  a 
charge.  Before  the  village  was  reached,  Ralph  J. 
Weeks,  an  educated  Pawnee,  and  some  others  of  the 
scouts  crossed  the  stream  and  were  riding  near  the 
soldiers.  As  they  were  crossing  the  cafion  at  the 
mouth  of  which  the  village  stood,  the  enemy  began 
to  fire  at  them  from  the  ravine.  Lieut.  McKinney 
was  killed  at  the  first  volley,  and  immediately  after 
ward  his  first  sergeant  fell,  leaving  the  troop  without 
a  commander.  The  soldiers  hesitated,  stopped,  and 
then  turned  round,  and  began  to  retreat. 


A  Leader  of  Soldiers. 


75 


Ralph  rode  up  behind  them,  and  got  off  his  horse, 
and  called  out,  "  Hold  on  boys,  don't  run.  There 
are  only  seven  Indians  there.  Come  on,  and  we  will 
kill  them  all.  Get  off  your  horses  and  come  ahead 
on  foot.  There  are  only  seven  of  them.  We  will 
kill  them  all." 

The  men  stopped  in  their  retreat,  dismounted,  and 
under  Ralph's  direction  and  leadership,  went  for 
ward,  and  did  kill  all  the  Indians  in  the  ravine. 


KNIFE    SCABBARD. 


A   CHEYENNE    BLANKET. 

THE  Cheyennes,  like  other  Indians,  do  not 
speak  to  each  other  when  they  are  away 
from  the  camp.  If  a  man  goes  away  from  the  vil 
lage,  and  sits  or  stands  by  himself  on  the  top  of  a 
hill,  it  is  a  sign  that  he  wants  to  be  alone;  perhaps 
to  meditate;  perhaps  to  pray.  No  one  speaks  to 
him  or  goes  near  him. 

Now,  there  was  once  a  Pawnee  boy,  who  went  off 
on  the  warpath  to  the  Cheyenne  camp.  In  some 
way  he  had  obtained  a  Cheyenne  blanket.  This 
Pawnee  came  close  to  the  Cheyenne  camp,  and 
hid  himself  there  to  wait.  About  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon,  he  left  his  hiding  place,  and  walked 
to  the  top  of  the  hill  overlooking  the  village.  He 
had  his  Cheyenne  blanket  wrapped  about  him  and 
over  his  head,  with  only  a  little  hole  for  his  eyes. 


A  Cheyenne  Blanket.  77 

He  stood  there  for  an  hour  or  two,  looking  over  the 
Cheyenne  camp. 

They  were  coming  in  from  buffalo  hunting,  and 
some  were  leading  in  the  pack  horses  loaded  down 
with  meat.  A  man  came  along,  riding  a  horse 
packed  with  meat,  and  leading  another  pack  horse, 
and  a  black  spotted  horse  that  was  his  running 
horse.  These  running  horses  are  ridden  only  on 
the  chase  or  on  war  parties,  and  are  well  cared  for. 
After  being  used  they  are  taken  down  to  the  river 
and  are  washed  and  cleaned  with  care.  When  the 
boy  saw  this  spotted  horse,  he  thought  to  himself 
that  this  was  the  horse  that  he  would  take.  When 
the  man  who  was  leading  it  reached  his  lodge,  he 
dismounted  and  handed  the  ropes  to  his  women, 
and  went  inside. 

Then  the  Pawnee  made  up  his  mind  what  he 
would  do.  He  started  down  the  hill  into  the  village, 
and  walked  straight  to  this  lodge,  where  the  women 
were  unloading  the  meat.  He  walked  up  to  them, 
reached  out  his  hand,  and  took  the  ropes  of  the 
spotted  horse  and  one  of  the  others.  As  he  did  so 
the  women  fell  back.  Probably  they  thought  that 
this  was  some  one  of  the  relations  of  the  owner,  who 
was  going  to  take  the  running  horse  down  to  the 


78  Hero  Stories. 

river  to  wash  it.  The  Pawnee  could  not  talk  Chey 
enne,  but  as  he  turned  away  he  mumbled  something 
— m-m-m-m — as  if  speaking  in  a  low  voice,  and  then 
walked  down  toward  the  river.  As  soon  as  he  had 
gone  down  over  the  bank  and  was  out  of  sight,  he 
jumped  on  the  spotted  horse  and  rode  into  the 
brush,  and  pretty  soon  was  away  with  two  horses, 
stolen  out  of  the  Cheyenne  camp  in  broad  daylight, 


A  WAR   SHIELD. 


LITTLE   WARRIOR'S   COUNSEL. 

MOST  of  the  Pawnee  heroes  are  so  regarded 
because  of  victories,  daring  deeds,  the  coups 
they  have  counted  and  the  horses  they  have  stolen. 
The  glory  of  Comanche  Chief  and  of  Lone  Chief 
depends  mainly  on  their  bravery,  rather  than  on  the 
fact  that  they  were  peace-makers.  Yet  there  should 
be  room  among  these  stories  for  the  account  of  an 
educated  Pawnee — a  brave — who  by  his  wise  counsel 
to  an  Indian  of  a  hostile  tribe  saved  many  lives,  both 
of  Indians  and  of  white  men.  Little  Warrior  was 
educated  at  a  Western  college,  but  has  shown  his 
bravery  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  has  sacrificed  a 
scalp  to  Ti-ra'-wa. 

In  the  year  1879,  a* tne  time  of  the  Ute  outbreak, 
after  Major  Thornburgh's  command  had  been  anni 
hilated,  Little  Warrior  was  employed  as  a  scout  for 


80  Hero  Stories. 

the  troops.  On  the  headwaters  of  the  Arkansas 
River  he  was  one  day  scouting  in  advance  of  the 
command,  in  company  with  four  white  soldiers  and 
four  Indian  scouts.  This  day,  the  party  saw  far  off 
on  the  prairie  an  Indian,  who  showed  a  white  flag, 
and  came  toward  them.  When  he  had  come  near  to 
them,  the  soldiers  proposed  to  kill  him,  and  report 
that  he  was  a  Ute,  one  of  the  Indians  that  they  were 
looking  for.  But  Little  Warrior  said,  "  No.  He  has 
a  white  flag  up,  and  it  may  be  that  he  is  carrying  a 
dispatch,  or,  perhaps,  he  is  a  white  man  disguised  as 
an  Indian." 

When  the  man  had  come  close  to  them,  they  saw 
that  he  was  dressed  like  a  Comanche;  he  did  not 
have  the  bristling  fringe  of  hair  over  the  forehead 
that  the  Utes  wear,  and  his  side  locks  were  un- 
braided.  Little  Warrior  asked  him,  by  signs,  if  he 
was  alone,  to  which  he  replied  in  the  same  language 
that  he  was  alone.  Then  Little  Warrior  inquired 
who  he  was.  The  stranger  made  the  sign  for 
Comanche — a  friendly  tribe. 

They  took  him  into  the  camp,  and  after  a  while 
Little  Warrior  began  to  talk  to  him  in  Comanche. 
He  could  not  understand  a  word  of  it. 

Then  the  Pawnee  said  to  him,  "My  friend,  you 


Little    Warrior  s  Counsel.  81 

are  a  Ute."     The  stranger  acknowledged   that  he 
was. 

Then  Little  Warrior  talked  to  him,  and  gave  him 
much  good  advice.  He  said,  "My  friend,  you  and  I 
have  the  same  skin,  and  what  I  tell  you  now  is  for 
your  good.  I  speak  to  you  as  a  friend,  and  what  I 
say  to  you  now  is  so  that  you  may  save  your  women 
and  your  children.  It  is  of  no  use  for  you  to  try  to 
fight  the  white  people.  I  have  been  among  them, 
and  I  know  how  many  they  are.  They  are  like  the 
grass.  Even  if  you  were  to  kill  a  hundred  it  would 
be  nothing.  It  would  be  like  burning  up  a  few 
handfuls  of  prairie  grass.  There  would  be  just  as 
many  left.  If  you  try  to  fight  them  they  will  hunt 
you  like  a  ghost.  Wherever  you  go  they  will  fol 
low  after  you,  and  you  will  get  no  rest.  The  sol 
diers  will  be  continually  on  your  tracks.  Even  if 
you  were  to  go  up  on  top  of  a  high  mountain,  where 
there  was  nothing  but  rocks,  and  where  no  one  else 
could  come,  the  soldiers  would  follow  you,  and  get 
around  you,  and  wait,  and  wait,  even  for  fifty  years. 
They  would  have  plenty  to  eat,  and  they  could  wait 
until  after  you  were  dead.  There  is  one  white  man 
who  is  the  chief  of  all  this  country,  and  what  he  says 
must  be  done.  It  is  no  use  to  fight  him. 


82  Hero  Stories. 

"  Now  if  you  are  wise  you  will  go  out  and  get  all 
your  people,  and  bring  them  in,  on  to  the  reservation, 
and  give  yourself  up.  It  will  be  better  for  you  in  the 
end.  I  speak  to  you  as  a  friend,  because  we  are 
both  the  same  color,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  listen 
to  my  words." 

The  Ute  said,  "  My  friend,  your  words  are  good, 
and  I  thank  you  for  the  friendly  advice  you  have 
given  me.  I  will  follow  it  and  will  agree  to  go  away 
and  bring  in  my  people." 

Little  Warrior  said,  "  How  do  you  make  a  prom 
ise?" 

The  Ute  said,  "  By  raising  the  right  hand  to  one 
above." 

Little  Warrior  said,  "That  is  the  custom  also 
among  my  people." 

The  Ute  raised  his  hand  and  made  the  promise. 

After  he  had  been  detained  two  or  three  weeks,  he 
was  allowed  to  go,  and  about  a  month  afterward,  he 
brought  in  the  band  of  which  he  was  chief,  and  sur 
rendered.  Through  his  influence  afterward,  the 
whole  tribe  came  in  and  gave  themselves  up.  He 
was  grateful  to  Little  Warrior  for  what  he  had  done 
for  him,  and  told  him  that  if  he  ever  came  back  into 
his  country  he  would  give  him  many  ponies. 


A    COMANCHE    BUNDLE. 

A  PAWNEE  boy  went  to  the  Comanche  village 
after  horses.  At  night  he  went  into  the  camp, 
crept  to  the  door  of  a  lodge,  and  took  a  horse  that 
was  tied  there.  It  was  bright  moonlight,  and  as  he 
was  cutting  the  rope  he  saw,  hanging  before  the 
lodge,  a  handsome  shield  and  a  spear,  which  he 
took.  There  was  also  a  bundle  hanging  there.  He 
took  this  down,  opened  it,  and  found  in  it  a  war 
bonnet,  beaded  moccasins  and  leggings,  and  a  breast 
plate  of  long  beads.  He  dressed  himself  in  all  these 
fine  things,  mounted  the  horse  and  rode  away. 


FOLK-TALES. 


THE    DUN    HORSE. 


MANY  years  ago,  there  lived  in  the  Pawnee 
tribe  an  old  woman  and  her  grandson,  a 
boy  about  sixteen  years  old.  These  people  had 
no  relations  and  were  very  poor.  They  were  so 
poor  that  they  were  despised  by  the  rest  of  the  tribe. 
They  had  nothing  of  their  own;,  and  always,  after 
the  village  started  to  move  the  camp  from  one  place 
to  another,  these  two  would  stay  behi-nd  the  rest,  to 
look  over  the  old  camp,  and  pick  up  anything  that 
the  other  Indians  had  thrown  away,  as  worn  out  or 
useless.  In  this  way  they  would  sometimes  get 
pieces  of  robes,  worn  out  moccasins  with  holes  in 
them,  and  bits  of  meat. 

Now,  it  happened  one  day,  after  the  tribe  had 
moved  away  from  the  camp,  that  this  old  woman 


88  Folk- Tales. 

and  her  boy  were  following  along  the  trail  behind 
the  rest,  when  they  came  to  a  miserable  old  worn 
out  dun  horse,  which  they  supposed  had  been  aban 
doned  by  some  Indians.  He  was  thin  and  exhausted, 
was  blind  of  one  eye,  had  a  bad  sore  back,  and  one 
of  his  forelegs  was  very  much  swollen.  In  fact, 
he  was  so  worthless  that  none  of  the  Pawnees  had 
been  willing  to  take  the  trouble  to  try  to  drive  him 
along  with  them.  But  when  the  old  woman  and  her 
boy  came  along,  the  boy  said,  "  Come  now,  we  will 
take  this  old  horse,  for  we  can  make  him  carry  our 
pack."  So  the  old  woman  put  her  pack  on  the  horse, 
and  drove  him  along,  but  he  limped  and  could  only 

go  very  slowly. 

n. 

The  tribe  moved  up  on  the  North  Platte,  until 
they  came  to  Court  House  Rock.  The  two  poor 
Indians  followed  them,  and  camped  with  the  others. 
One  day  while  they  were  here,  the  young  men  who 
had  been  sent  out  to  look  for  buffalo,  came  hurrying 
into  camp  and  told  the  chiefs  that  a  large  herd  of 
buffalo  were  near,  and  that  among  them  was  a 
spotted  calf. 

The  Head  Chief  of  the  Pawnees  had  a  very  beau 
tiful  daughter,  and  when  he  heard  about  the  spotted 


The  Dun  Horse.  89 

calf,  he  ordered  his  old  crier  to  go  about  through  the 
village,  and  call  out  that  the  man  who  killed  the 
spotted  calf  should  have  his  daughter  for  his  wife. 
•i  For  a  spotted  robe  is  ti-war '-uks-ti — big  medicine. 

The  buffalo  were  feeding  about  four  miles  from 
the  village,  and  the  chiefs  decided  that  the  charge 
should  be  made  from  there.  In  this  way,  the  man 
who  had  the  fastest  horse  would  be  the  most  likely 
to  kill  the  calf.  Then  all  the  warriors  and  the  young 
men  picked  out  their  best  and  fastest  horses,  and 
made  ready  to  start.  Among  those  who  prepared 
for  the  charge  was  the  poor  boy  on  the  old  dun 
horse.  But  when  they  saw  him,  all  the  rich  young 
braves  on  their  fast  horses  pointed  at  him,  and  said, 
"Oh,  see;  there  is  the  horse  that  is  going  to  catch 
the  spotted  calf;"  and  they  laughed  at  him,  so  that 
the  poor  boy  was  ashamed,  and  rode  off  to  one  side 
of  the  crowd,  where  he  could  not  hear  their  jokes 
and  laughter. 

When  he  had  ridden  off  some  little  way,  the  horse 
stopped,  and  turned  his  head  round,  and  spoke  to 
the  boy.  He  said,  "Take  me  down  to  the  creek, 
and  plaster  me  all  over  with  mud.  Cover  my  head 
and  neck  and  body  and  legs."  When  the  boy  heard 
the  horse  speak,  he  was  afraid;  but  he  did  as  he  was 


QO  Folk-  Tales. 

told.  Then  the  horse  said,  "Now  mount,  but  do 
not  ride  back  to  the  warriors,  who  laugh  at  you  be 
cause  you  have  such  a  poor  horse.  Stay  right  here, 
until  the  word  is  given  to  charge."  So  the  boy 
stayed  there. 

And  presently  all  the  fine  horses  were  drawn  up  in 
line  and  pranced  about,  and  were  so  eager  to  go  that 
their  riders  could  hardly  hold  them  in;  and  at  last 
the  old  crier  gave  the  word,  "Loo-ah" — Go!  Then 
the  Pawnees  all  leaned  forward  on  their  horses  and 
yelled,  and  away  they  went.  Suddenly,  away  off  to 
the  right,  was  seen  the  old  dun  horse.  He  did  not 
seem  to  run.  He  seemed  to  sail  along  like  a  bird. 
He  passed  all  the  fastest  horses,  and  in  a  moment  he 
was  among  the  buffalo.  First  he  picked  out  the 
spotted  calf,  and  charging  up  alongside  of  it,  U-ra- 
rish!  straight  flew  the  arrow.  The  calf  fell.  The 
boy  drew  another  arrow,  and  killed  a  fat  cow  that 
was  running  by.  Then  he  dismounted  and  began  to 
skin  the  calf,  before  any  of  the  other  warriors  had 
come  up.  But  when  the  rider  got  off  the  old  dun 
horse,  how  changed  he  was !  He  pranced  about  and 
would  hardly  stand  still  near  the  dead  buffalo.  His 
back  was  all  right  again;  his  legs  were  well  and  fine; 
and  both  his  eyes  were  clear  and  bright. 


The  Dun  Horse.  91 

The  boy  skinned  the  calf  and  the  cow  that  he  had 
killed,  and  then  he  packed  all  the  meat  on  the  horse, 
and  put  the  spotted  robe  on  top  of  the  load,  and 
started  back  to  the  camp  on  foot,  leading  the  dun 
horse.  But  even  with  this  heavy  load  the  horse 
pranced  all  the  time,  and  was  scared  at  everything 
he  saw.  On  the  way  to  camp,  one  of  the  rich  young 
chiefs  of  the  tribe  rode  up  by  the  boy,  and  offered 
him  twelve  good  horses  for  the  spotted  robe,  so  that 
he  could  marry  the  Head  Chief's  beautiful  daughter; 
but  the  boy  laughed  at  him  and  would  not  sell  the  robe. 

Now,  while  the  boy  walked  to  the  camp  leading 
the  dun  horse,  most  of  the  warriors  rode  back,  and 
one  of  those  that  came  first  to  the  village,  went  to 
the  old  woman,  and  said  to  her,  "Your  grandson  has 
killed  the  spotted  calf."  And  the  old  woman  said, 
"Why  do  you  come  to  tell  me  this?  You  ought  to 
be  ashamed  to  make  fun  of  my  boy,  because  he  is 
poor."  The  warrior  said,  "What  I  have  told  you  is 
true,"  and  then  he  rode  away.  After  a  little  while 
another  brave  rode  up  to  the  old  woman,  and  said 
to  her,  "Your  grandson  has  killed  the  spotted  calf." 
Then  the  old  woman  began  to  cry,  she  felt  so  badly 
because  every  one  made  fun  of  her  boy,  because  he 
was  poor. 


92  Folk- Tales. 

Pretty  soon  the  boy  came  along,  leading  the  horse 
up  to  the  lodge  where  he  and  his  grandmother  lived. 
It  was  a  little  lodge,  just  big  enough  for  two,  and  was 
made  of  old  pieces  of  skin  that  the  old  woman  had 
picked  up,  and  was  tied  together  with  strings  of  raw 
hide  and  sinew.  It  was  the  meanest  and  worst  lodge 
in  the  village.  When  the  old  woman  saw  her  boy 
leading  the  dun  horse  with  the  load  of  meat  and  the 
robes  on  it,  she  was  very  much  surprised.  The  boy 
said  to  her,  "  Here,  I  have  brought  you  plenty  of 
meat  to  eat,  and  here  is  a  robe,  that  you  may  have 
for  yourself.  Take  the  meat  off  the  horse."  Then 
the  old  woman  laughed,  for  her  heart  was  glad. 
But  when  she  went  to  take  the  meat  from  the  horse's 
back,  he  snorted  and  jumped  about,  and  acted  like  a 
wild  horse.  The  old  woman  looked  at  him  in  won 
der,  and  could  hardly  believe  that  it  was  the  same 
horse.  So  the  boy  had  to  take  off  the  meat,  for  the 
horse  would  not  let  the  old  woman  come  near  him. 

in. 

That  night  the  horse  spoke  again  to  the  boy  and 
said,  "  Wa-ti-hes  Chah'-ra-rat  wa-ta.  To-morrow 
the  Sioux  are  coming — a  large  war  party.  They  will 
attack  the  village,  and  you  will  have  a  great  battle. 


The  Dun  Horse.  93 

Now,  when  the  Sioux  are  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle, 
and  are  all  ready  to  fight,  you  jump  on  to  me,  and 
ride  as  hard  as  you  can,  right  into  the  middle  of  the 
Sioux,  and  up  to  their  Head  Chief,  their  greatest 
warrior,  and  count  coup  on  him,  and  kill  him,  and 
then  ride  back.  Do  this  four  times,  and  count  coup 
on  four  of  the  bravest  Sioux,  and  kill  them,  but  don't 
go  again.  If  you  go  the  fifth  time,  may  be  you  will 
be  killed,  or  else  you  will  lose  me.  La-ku' -ta-chix — 
remember."  So  the  boy  promised. 

The  next  day  it  happened  as  the  horse  had  said, 
and  the  Sioux  came  down  and  formed  in  line  of 
battle.  Then  the  boy  took  his  bow  and  arrows,  and 
jumped  on  the  dun  horse,  and  charged  into  the 
midst  of  them.  And  when  the  Sioux  saw  that  he 
was  going  to  strike  their  Head  Chief,  they  all  shot 
their  arrows  at  him,  and  the  arrows  flew  so  thickly 
across  each  other  that  they  darkened  the  sky,  but  none 
of  them  hit  the  boy.  And  he  counted  coup  on  the 
Chief,  and  killed  him,  and  then  rode  back.  After 
that  he  charged  again  among  the  Sioux,  where  they 
were  gathered  thickest,  and  counted  coup  on  their 
bravest  warrior,  and  killed  him.  And  then  twice 
more,  until  he  had  gone  four  times  as  the  horse  had 
told  him, 


94  Folk-  Talcs. 

But  the  Sioux  and  the  Pawnees  kept  on  fighting, 
and  the  boy  stood  around  and  watched  the  battle. 
And  at  last  he  said  to  himself,  "I  have  been  four 
times  and  have  killed  four  Sioux,  and  I  am  all  right, 
I  am  not  hurt  anywhere;  why  may  I  not  go  again?" 
So  he  jumped  on  the  dun  horse,  and  charged  again. 
But  when  he  got  among  the  Sioux,  one  Sioux  war 
rior  drew  an  arrow  and  shot.  The  arrow  struck  the 
dun  horse  behind  the  forelegs  and  pierced  him 
through.  And  the  horse  fell  down  dead.  But  the 
boy  jumped  off,  and  fought  his  way  through  the 
Sioux,  and  ran  away  as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  Paw 
nees.  Now,  as  soon  as  the  horse  was  killed,  the 
Sioux  said  to  each  other,  "  This  horse  was  like  a 
man.  He  was  brave.  He  was  not  like  a  horse." 
And  they  took  their  knives  and  hatchets,  and  hacked 
the  dun  horse  and  gashed  his  flesh,  and  cut  him  into 
small  pieces. 

The  Pawnees  and  Sioux  fought  all  day  long,  but 
toward  night  the  Sioux  broke  and  fled. 

IV. 

The  boy  felt  very  badly  that  he  had  lost  his  horse; 
and,  after  the  fight  was  over,  he  went  out  from  the 
village  to  where  it  had  taken  place,  to  mourn  for  his 


The  Dun  Horse.  95 

horse.  He  went  to  the  spot  where  the  horse  lay,  and 
gathered  up  all  the  pieces  of  flesh,  which  the  Sioux 
had  cut  off,  and  the  legs  and  the  hoofs,  and  put  them 
all  together  in  a  pile.  Then  he  went  off  to  the  top 
of  a  hill  near  by,  and  sat  down  and  drew  his  robe 
over  his  head,  and  began  to  mourn  for  his  horse. 

As  he  sat  there,  he  heard  a  great  wind  storm  com 
ing  up,  and  it  passed  over  him  with  a  loud  rushing 
sound,  and  after  the  wind  came  a  rain.  The  boy 
looked  down  from  where  he  sat  to  the  pile  of  flesh 
and  bones,  which  was  all  that  was  left  of  his  horse, 
and  he  could  just  see  it  through  the  rain.  And  the 
rain  passed  by,  and  his  heart  was  very  heavy,  and  he 
kept  on  mourning. 

And  pretty  soon,  came  another  rushing  wind,  and 
after  it  a  rain;  and  as  he  looked  through  the  driving 
rain  toward  the  spot  where  the  pieces  lay,  he  thought 
that  they  seemed  to  come  together  and  take  shape, 
and  that  the  pile  looked  like  a  horse  lying  down,  but 
he  could  not  see  well  for  the  thick  rain. 

After  this,  came  a  third  storm  like  the  others;  and 
now  when  he  looked  toward  the  horse  he  thought  he 
saw  its  tail  move  from  side  to  side  two  or  three  times, 
and  that  it  lifted  its  head  from  the  ground.  The  boy 
was  afraid,  and  wanted  to  run  away,  but  he  stayed. 


96  Folk-  Tales. 

And  as  he  waited,  there  came  another  storm.  And 
while  the  rain  fell,  looking  through  the  rain,  the  boy 
saw  the  horse  raise  himself  up  on  his  forelegs  and 
look  about.  Then  the  dun  horse  stood  up. 

v. 

The  boy  left  the  place  where  he  had  been  sit 
ting  on  the  hilltop,  and  went  down  to  him.  When 
the  boy  had  come  near  to  him,  the  horse  spoke  and 
said,  "You  have  seen  how  it  has  been  this  day;  and 
from  this  you  may  know  how  it  will  be  after  this. 
But  Ti-ra'-wa  has  been  good,  and  has  let  me  come 
back  to  you.  After  this,  do  what  I  tell  you;  not  any 
more,  not  any  less."  Then  the  horse  said;  "Now 
lead  me  off,  far  away  from  the  camp,  behind  that 
big  hill,  and  leave  me  there  to-night,  and  in  the 
morning  come  for  me;"  and  the  boy  did  as  he  was 
told. 

And  when  he  went  for  the  horse  in  the  morning, 
he  found  with  him  a  beautiful  white  gelding,  much 
more  handsome  than  any  horse  in  the  tribe.  That 
night  the  dun  horse  told  the  boy  to  take  him  again 
to  the  place  behind  the  big  hill,  and  to  come  for  him 
the  next  morning;  and  when  the  boy  went  for  him 
again,  he  found  with  him  a  beautiful  black  gelding. 


The  Dun  Horse.  97 

And  so  for  ten  nights,  he  left  the  horse  among  the 
hills,  and  each  morning  he  found  a  different  colored 
horse,  a  bay,  a  roan,  a  gray,  a  blue,  a  spotted  horse, 
and  all  of  them  finer  than  any  horses  that  the  Paw 
nees  had  ever  had  in  their  tribe  before. 

Now  the  boy  was  rich,  and  he  married  the  beauti 
ful  daughter  of  the  Head  Chief,  and  when  he  be 
came  older,  he  was  made  Head  Chief  himself.  He 
had  many  children  by  his  beautiful  wife,  and  one  day 
when  his  oldest  boy  died,  he  wrapped  him  in  the 
spotted  calf  robe  and  buried  him  in  it.  He  always 
took  good  care  of  his  old  grandmother,  and  kept  her 
in  his  own  lodge  until  she  died.  The  dun  horse  was 
never  ridden  except  at  feasts,  and  when  they  were 
going  to  have  a  doctors'  dance,  but  he  was  always 
led  about  with  the  Chief,  wherever  he  went.  The 
horse  lived  in  the  village  for  many  years,  until  he 
became  very  old.  And  at  last  he  died. 


A  STORY   OF   FAITH. 

ONG  ago,  before  they  ever  had  any  of  these 
•* — '  doctors'  dances,  there  was,  in  the  Kit-ke- 
hahk'-i  tribe,  a  young  boy,  small,  growing  up.  He 
seemed  not  to  go. with  the  other  boys  nor  to  play 
with  them,  but  would  keep  away  from  them.  He 
would  go  off  by  himself,  and  lie  down,  and  some 
times  they  would  find  him  crying,  or  half  crying. 
He  seemed  to  have  peculiar  ways.  His  father  and 
mother  did  not  try  to  interfere  with  him,  but  let  him 
alone.  Sometimes  they  would  find  him  with  mud  or 
clay  smeared  over  his  face  and  head.  That  is  the 
sign  of  a  doctor.  When  you  see  a  person  putting 
mud  on  his  face  or  head,  it  shows  that  he  has  faith 
in  the  earth.  From  the  earth  are  taken  the  roots 
that  they  use  in  medicine. 


A  Story  of  Faith.  99 

When  the  parents  saw  this,  they  did  not  under 
stand  it.  How  should  he  know  anything  about  mud 
being  the  sign  of  a  doctor?  They  did  not  under 
stand,  but  they  just  let  him  do  it. 

The  boy  grew  up  till  he  came  to  have  the  ways  of 
a  young  man,  but  he  never  went  with  any  of  the 
other  boys.  After  he  had  grown  up,  they  saw  that 
he  had  something  in  his  mind.  Sometimes  he  would 
fast  for  two  days,  and  sit  by  himself,  smoking  and 
praying  to  T£-ra'-u>a,  and  not  saying  anything  to  any 
one.  His  father  was  a  brave  but  not  a  chief,  and 
had  plenty  of  horses.  The  son  was  well  dressed  and 
comfortably  off. 

When  any  one  in  the  camp  was  sick,  this  young 
man  would  take  pity  on  him,  and  of  his  own  accord 
would  go  and  doctor  him,  and  pretty  soon  the  person 
would  be  well  again.  Through  his  doing  this,  the 
people  began  to  hear  about  him,  and  his  name  be 
came  great.  He  was  humble,  and  did  not  want  to 
be  thought  well  of.  He  was  not  proud,  but  he  was 
always  doing  good.  At  that  time,  there  were  many 
doctors  in  the  tribe,  and  they  wondered  how  it  was 
that  he  could  cure  so  many  people,  when  he  had 
never  been  taught  by  any  of  them.  They  could  not 
understand  it,  and  they  began  to  be  jealous  of  him. 


ioo  Folk- Tales. 

He  never  wanted  to  be  with  the  doctors,  but  liked 
to  stay  by  himself.  He  wanted  to  be  alone  rather 
than  with  any  one. 

In  that  time  there  were  bad  doctors,  and  they  be 
gan  to  hear  about  this  humble  man  and  to  be  jealous 
of  him.  These  bad  doctors  could  curse  a  man,  and 
he  would  be  cursed,  and  could  poison  one.  They 
had  great  power  and  influence,  for  everybody  feared 
them. 

The  bands  of  the  Pawnees  were  not  then  together, 
as  they  are  now.  As  the  people  talked  about  this 
young  man,  one  of  the  other  bands  heard  about  him. 
In  this  band  was  a  great  doctor,  and  this  doctor 
thought  to  himself,  "This  young  man's  influence  is 
growing.  If  I  do  not  do  something,  he  will  soon  be 
ahead  of  me." 

This  great  doctor  went  to  the  village  to  visit  this 
young  man,  to  see  how  he  looked,  and  to  find  out 
how  he  got  his  knowledge  and  his  power,  for  he 
knew  he  had  never  been  taught.  He  wanted  to  eat 
with  him,  and  talk  with  him,  and  find  out  whence  his 
learning  came.  He  reached  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  vil 
lage.  He  was  welcomed,  and  the  young  man  treated 
him  with  respect,  and  asked  him  to  come  into  the 
lodge,  and  sit  down  with  him.  At  night  they  talked 


A  Story  of  Faith.  101 

together.  The  great  doctor  said,  "  I  am  glad  to  see 
you.  You  can  come  to  me  for  advice  sometimes." 
The  young  man  thanked  him.  They  smoked  to 
gether.  It  is  the  custom  always  when  an  Indian  is 
visiting  another,  for  the  one  that  is  being  visited  to 
present  all  the  smokes;  but  at  this  time  the  great 
doctor  said,  "We  will  smoke  my  tobacco."  So  all 
night  they  smoked  his  tobacco.  The  next  morning 
he  went  away.  He  did  not  again  eat  with  the  young 
man.  He  said,  "  I  am  glad,  and  I  am  going."  And 
he  went  away  to  his  village.  This  happened  in  the 
winter. 

This  young  man  was  not  married.  His  father  had 
asked  him  to  marry,  but  he  would  not.  He  said  he 
had  reasons. 

About  summer  time,  he  felt  different  from  what  he 
had.  He  was  drowsy  and  felt  badly.  He  felt  heavy. 
He  seemed  to  be  swelling  up  with  some  strange  new 
disease.  The  great  doctor  had  poisoned  him  with 
this  result.  How  it  was  no  one  can  tell,  but  it  was 
so.  This  was  a  disgrace,  and  he  did  not  know  how 
to  get  out  of  it.  There  was  no  way.  He  would  go 
off  and  cry,  and  pray  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  and  sometimes 
would  stay  for  three  or  four  days  without  anything 
to  eat.  He  was  so  miserable  that  one  time  he  was 


102  Folk- Tales. 

going  to  kill  himself.  He  did  not  tell  his  father  or 
any  one  about  this,  but  kept  it  to  himself.  The  tribe 
went  off  on  a  hunt  and  left  the  old  village.  Before 
they  started,  the  man  went  off  on  a  hill  somewhere 
to  meditate  and  pray,  and  his  father  told  him  that 
when  he  was  ready  to  start  he  should  ride  such  a 
horse,  and  he  left  it  in  the  village  for  him  when  he 
should  come  in. 

When  he  came  into  the  empty  village  he  found  the 
horse  tied  there,  and  he  saddled  it  and  started;  but 
instead  of  going  in  the  direction  the  tribe  had  taken, 
he  went  east.  His  horse  was  a  fine  one.  He  went 
away  off  by  himself  for  some  days,  and  at  last  he 
stopped,  and  got  off  his  horse,  and  tied  it  to  a  tree 
Then  he  called  aloud  and  said,  "A-ti-us  ta'-kaw-a 
(My  Father,  in  all  places),  it  is  through  you  that  I  am 
living.  Perhaps  it  was  through  you  that  this  man 
put  me  in  this  condition.  You  are  the  ruler.  Nothing 
is  impossible  to  you.  If  you  see  fit,  take  this  away 
from  me."  Then  he  turned  round  and  said,  "Now, 
you,  all  fish  of  the  rivers,  and  you,  all  birds  of  the 
air,  and  all  animals  that  move  upon  the  earth,  and 
you,  oh  Sun!  I  present  to  you  this  animal."'  He 
said  again,  "You  birds  in  the  air,  and  you  animals 
upon  the  earth,  we  are  related,  we  are  alike  in  this 


A   Story  of  Faith.  103 

respect,  that  one  ruler  made  us  all.  You  see  me,  how 
unhappy  I  am.  If  you  have  any  power,  intercede 
for  me." 

When  he  had  finished  his  prayer,  he  went  up  to 
the  horse,  and  stabbed  it  with  his  knife  and  killed  it, 
and  it  fell  down  dead.  He  turned  it  so  that  its  head 
was  toward  the  east,  and  raised  it  on  its  belly, 
doubling  its  knees  under  it,  and  cut  the  hide  down 
the  back,  and  skinned  it  down  on  both  sides,  so  that 
the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  animals  of  the  earth 
might  feed  on  it. 

The  tribe  at  this  time  was  camped  on  the  head  of 
the  Republican  River.  He  went  on  toward  the  east 
until  he  came  to  the  place  on  the  Platte  River  called 
Pa-huk'  (hill  island).  He  saw  that  there  were 
many  wild  animals  on  this  point,  and  he  liked  it,  and 
thought  he  would  stay  there,  and  perhaps  dream. 
He  stopped  there  a  while,  feeling  very  badly,  and 
mourning  all  the  time  on  this  point.  He  was  there 
several  days,  and  one  night  it  happened  that  he  went 
to  sleep  [fainted],  for  he  was  exhausted  with  much 
weeping  and  praying.  Something  spoke  to  him,  and 
said,  ''What  are  you  doing  here?"  He  woke  up, 
and  looked  around,  but  saw  no  one.  It  was  only  a 
voice.  Another  night  when  he  was  asleep  a  voice 


104  Folk- Tales. 

asked  him,  "What  are  you  doing  here?"  He  awoke 
and  looked  about,  but  saw  no  one.  A  third  night 
the  same  thing  happened,  and  he  was  wondering 
what  it  meant.  Then  he  answered  and  said,  "  Who 
ever  you  are  who  speaks  to  me,  look  at  me  and  you 
will  see  that  I  am  poor  in  mind.*  I  am  a  man,  and 
yet  I  am  in  a  condition  that  no  man  was  ever  in 
before.  I  am  here  only  to  suffer  and  to  die.  Who 
ever  you  are  who  speaks  to  me,  take  pity  on  me  and 
help  me."  He  received  no  answer. 

The  fourth  night  something  touched  him.  He  was 
half  awake  when  he  felt  it.  Something  said,  "What 
are  you  doing  here  ?"  He  was  lying  on  his  side,  his 
head  toward  the  east  and  his  feet  toward  the  west. 
Something  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  he 
looked  up  and  saw  a  great  big  animal,  big  black  eyes 
and  a  whitish  body,  Pah' ,  big  elk.  When  he  looked 
at  it,  the  animal  said,  "Get  up  and  sit  down;"  and 
the  elk  too  sat  down.  The  elk  said,  "  I  have  heard  of 
you  and  of  your  condition,  and  I  am  here  to  tell  you 
that  we  all  know  your  trouble.  Right  here  where 
you  are,  under  you,  is  the  home  of  the  Nahu'rac 
(animals).  I  know  that  k  is  impossible  to  help  you, 
but  I  shall  let  them  know — they  already  know — that 

*  Poor  in  mind,  *.  e. ,  despondent,  miserable,  unhappy. 


A  Story  of  Faith,  105 

you  are  here.  I  can  only  help  you  so  far  as  to  take 
you  to  the  places  where  these  animals  are.  If  this 
animal  home  cannot  help  you,  I  will  take  you  to 
another  place;  if  that  fails,  I  will  take  you  to  another 
place;  if  that  fails,  to  another.  Then  you  will  see 
that  I  have  done  my  part.  If  it  is  impossible  for  the 
animals  to  do  it,  we  have  still  one  above  that  we  look 
to."  As  soon  as  he  had  said,  this  he  vanished  like  a 
wind;  disappeared  all  at  once. 

While  the  boy  sat  there,  thinking  about  what  the 
animal  had  said  to  him,  he  fell  asleep  with  his  mind 
full  of  these  things.  In  his  sleep  something  talked 
to  him.  It  said,  "  I  know  that  you  feel  badly,  and 
that  your  mind  is  poor.  I  have  passed  you  many 
times,  and  I  have  heard  you  crying.  I  belong  here, 
but  I  am  one  of  the  servants.  I  have  informed  my 
leaders,  those  who  command  me,  about  you,  and  that 
you  are  so  poor  in  your  mind,  and  they  have  said  to 
me,  'If  you  take  pity  on  him,  do  as  you  please, 
because  you  are  our  servant.'  " 

At  this  time  he  woke  up,  and  saw  sitting  by  him  a 
little  bird.*  He  talked  to  it.  He  said,  "Oh,  my 

*  This  is  a  small  bird,  blue  above,  white  below,  with  red  legs. 
It  is  swift-flying,  and  sometimes  dives  down  into  the  water.  It 
is  the  messenger  bird  of  the  Nahu'rac.  See  also  story  of  the 
Boy  who  was  Sacrificed. 


io6  Folk- Tales. 

brother,  I  feel  pleased  that  you  understand  my  poor 
mind.  Now  take  pity  on  me  and  help  me."  The 
bird  said  to  him,  "  You  must  not  talk  in  this  way  to 
me.  I  am  only  a  servant.  To-morrow  night  I  will 
come  this  way,  and  will  show  you  what  to  do.  To 
morrow  night  I  will  come  this  way,  and  whatever  you 
see  me  do,  you  do  the  same  thing."  Then  he  dis 
appeared.  The  man  then  felt  a  little  easier  in  his 
mind,  and  more  as  if  there  were  some  hope  for  him. 
The  next  night  the  bird  came,  and  was  flying 
about  near  him  after  dark,  waiting  for  the  time. 
When  the  time  came,  the  bird  flew  close  to  him,  and 
said,  "Come.  Let  us  go  to  the  edge  of  the  cut 
bank."  When  they  had  come  to  the  edge  of  the 
bank  above  the  water  in  the  river,  the  bird  said, 
"  Now,  my  friend,  you  are  poor.  What  I  do,  you  do. 
When  I  dive  down  off  this  bank,  you  follow  me." 
The  man  replied  to  him,  "Yes,  I  am  poor.  What 
ever  you  tell  me  to  do,  I  will  do."  So  when  the  bird 
dived  down  off  the  cut  bank,  the  man  threw  off 
everything,  and  cared  nothing  for  what  he  did 
except  to  follow  the  bird.  He  leaped  down  after  it, 
and  as  he  sprang,  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  felt  like  a 
bird,  and  coulcl  sail  this  way  and  that.  He  did  not 
feel  as  if  he  were  falling,  and  were  going  to  be  hurt, 


A  Story  of  Faith.  107 

but  as  if  he  were  flying,  and  could  control  his  move 
ments.  Just  as  he  reached  the  water  in  his  fall,  it 
seemed  to  him  that  he  was  standing  in  the  entrance 
way  of  a  lodge,  and  could  look  through  into  it  and 
see  the  fire  burning  in  the  middle. 

While  he  was  standing  there,  the  bird  flew  in  ahead 
of  him,  and  he  heard  it  say,  "Here  he  is."  He 
stepped  toward  the  entrance,  and  just  as  he  came  to 
it  the  Nahurac  all  made  their  different  noises,  for 
they  are  not  used  to  the  smell  of  human  beings. 
The  bears  growled,  and  the  panthers  and  wild  cats 
and  wolves  and  rattlesnakes  and  other  animals  all 
made  their  sounds.  As  he  went  in,  there  was  a  bear 
standing  on  one  side,  and  a  great  snake  on  the  other, 
and  it  was  very  difficult  for  the  man  to  go  in.  He 
hesitated  a  little  to  enter  that  narrow  passage,  but 
something  behind  him  seemed  to  push  him  ahead, 
although  the  bear  stood  ready  to  seize  him,  and  the 
snake  was  rattling  and  standing  up  as  if  about  to 
strike.  If  he  had  not  had  the  courage  to  pass  them 
he  would  have  been  lost,  but  he  looked  neither  to 
the  right  nor  to  the  left,  but  walked  straight  ahead 
past  them.  As  soon  as  he  had  passed  them,  they 
both  sank  back  and  were  quiet.  Then  all  the 
Nahu'rac  made  another  kind  of  a  noise,  as  if  wel- 


io8  Folk- Talcs. 

coming  him.  The  bear  began  to  lie  down;  and  the 
snake  stretched  itself  out  again.  As  he  went  in  he 
just  stood  there  and  looked  around.  He  saw  there 
all  kinds  of  animals.  The  head  doctor  was  a  white 
beaver,  very  large,  there  was  another  a  garfish, 
another  an  otter,  and  the  fourth  was  a  sandhill 
crane. 

The  man  sat  down,  and  he  looked  very  pitiful. 
Then  for  a  while  everything  was  silent.  Then  the 
servant  said  to  the  four  head  doctors,  "I  have 
brought  this  man  here.  I  have  taken  pity  on  him, 
and  I  want  you  to  take  pity  on  him."  Then  it  was 
more  silent  than  ever.  The  man  looked  about  him, 
and  saw  all  the  animals,  and  saw  them  roll  their  eyes 
around  at  him. 

Presently  the  servant  got  up,  and  stood  right  in 
the  midst.  The  head  doctors  sat  at  the  back  of  the 
lodge  opposite  the  door  on  the  other  side  of  the  fire. 
The  bird  said,  "My  rulers,  you  know  me.  I  am 
your  servant,  and  I  am  always  obedient  to  your  com 
mands.  No  matter  what  you  tell  me  to  do,  I  do  it. 
No  matter  how  long  the  journeys  you  send  me  on,  I 
go.  Many  nights  I  have  lost  sleep  because  of  carry 
ing  out  your  commands.  I  have  seen  this  man  many 
times,  and  I  am  weary  of  his  crying  as  I  fly  back  and 


A  Story  of  Faith.  109 

forth.  Now,  I  want  you  to  take  pity  on  this  man, 
because  I  pity  him.  Look  on  this  poor-minded  man 
and  pity  him." 

Then  the  bird  went  to  the  young  man,  and  took 
from  him  his  pipe,  which  was  filled,  and  carried  it 
round  and  stood  before  the  beaver,  the  head  doctor, 
and  held  out  the  pipe  to  him  to  take.  The  white 
beaver  did  not  stretch  out  his  hand  for  it,  and  the 
bird  stood  there  for  a  long  time.  At  last  the  bird 
began  to  cry,  and  the  tears  began  to  run  down  its 
face,  and  it  cried  hard;  and  at  last  the  white  beaver 
stretched  out  his  hand,  and  then  drew  it  back  again, 
and  hesitated;  and  the  bird  kept  on  crying,  and  at 
length  the  head  doctor  reached  out  his  hand  and 
took  the  pipe.  Just  as  soon  as  he  took  the  pipe,  all 
the  animals  made  a  kind  of  a  hissing  sound,  as  much 
as  to  say,  Loo1  ah — Good.  They  were  pleased.  Then 
the  white  beaver,  holding  the  pipe,  said,  "I  cannot 
help  but  reach  out  for  this  pipe,  for  I  take  pity  on 
my  servant.  But  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  promise 
that  I  will  do  this  thing,  but  I  will  do  what  I  can.  I 
will  leave  it  to  this  other  Nahu'rac  to  say  what  shall 
be  done;"  and  he  passed  the  pipe  to  the  other 
Nahu'rac  who  sat  next  to  him.  This  animal  reached 
for  the  pipe,  and  took  it.  He  made  a  speech,  and 


no  Folk- Tales. 

said,  "  My  friends,  I  am  poor,  I  am  poor.  I  have  not 
such  power  as  that;"  and  he  passed  the  pipe  to 
another;  and  he  said,  "I  have  not  the  power;"  and 
he  passed  it  to  another;  and  so  it  went  around  the 
circle.  The  pipe  had  passed  around,  and  none  of 
the  Nahu'rac  had  the  power.  None  of  them  seemed 
to  understand  how  to  help  the  man.  Then  the  white 
beaver  said,  "My  friend,  you  see  that  no  one  of  us 
has  the  power  to  help  you.  There  is  another  lodge 
of  Nahu'rac  at  Pa'howa.  You  must  go  there  and 
ask  them."  Then  the  Nahu'rac  made  medicine,  and 
the  young  man  went  to  sleep,  and  when  he  awoke  at 
daylight,  he  found  himself  on  the  point  where  he 
had  lain  down  to  sleep  the  night  before. 

He  was  discouraged  and  wept  all  day  long.  At 
night  the  elk  came  to  him  and  said,  "Go  to  sleep;  I 
will  take  you  over  to  Pa'howa."  The  man  slept  and 
the  elk  took  him  on  its  back  and  carried  him  while 
asleep,  and  the  next  morning  he  found  himself  on 
that  point  of  Pa'howa. 

That  night  the  messenger  bird  came  to  him  and 
said,  "  Now,  my  friend,  follow  me,  and  what  you  see 
me  do,  that  do  yourself.  When  I  dive  down  into 
Pa'howa,  you  follow  me."  The  bird  dived  down 
into  the  spring,  and  the  young  man  jumped  after 


A  Story  of  Faith.  in 

him,  and  again  found  himself  standing  at  the  door 
of  a  lodge,  and  the  same  things  took  place  as  before. 
Here  the  same  animals  were  the  head  doctors.  The 
chief  head  doctor  talked  to  the  boy  and  said,  "My 
friend,  I  am  sorry  you  have  come  to  me  in  the  con 
dition  you  are  in.  My  friend,  this  is  something  im 
possible.  If  it  were  anything  else  it  might  be  pos 
sible  for  us  to  cure  your  trouble.  Nothing  like  it 
was  ever  known  before/' 

When  he  had  said  this  he  turned  to  the  Nahu'rac 
and  said,  "  Now  you  shall  be  the  leaders.  If  there 
are  any  of  you  who  understand  things  like  this;  if 
any  of  you  can  take  the  lead  in  things  like  this,  why 
do  it.  It  is  beyond  my  power.  Say  what  shall  be 
done,  any  of  you.  My  mind  would  be  big  if  any  of 
you  could  take  pity  on  this  poor  man." 

Another  one  of  the  Nahu ' rac  stood  up  and  spoke, 
"My  brother  [to  the  white  beaver],  and  my  brother 
[to  the  young  man],  do  not  feel  hard  at  me.  This  is 
beyond  my  power.  I  cannot  do  anything  to  help 
him."  So  it  went  around  the  circle,  every  one 
saying  that  it  was  impossible.  After  it  had  gone 
round,  the  head  doctor  again  stood  up  and  said, 
"  Now,  my  friend,  you  can  see  that  it  is  impossible 
to  cure  you  of  this  trouble,  but  there  is  another 


ii2  Folk- Tales. 

lodge  of  the  Nahu'rac  on  the  west  side  of  the  Loup 
River.  You  go  there."  Then  they  put  him  to  sleep, 
and  when  he  awoke  next  morning,  he  was  on  top  of 
the  ground  near  Pa'howa. 

That  night  the  elk  took  him  while  he  was  asleep 
to  the  place  on  the  Loup.  The  next  night  he  was 
sitting  on  the  ground  there,  and  the  bird  came  to 
him,  and  he  followed  the  bird  down  over  the  bank 
and  into  the  Nahu'rac  lodge.  Here  the  head 
doctors  were  the  same  animals,  and  they  made 
speeches  as  had  been  done  at  the  other  places,  and, 
as  before,  it  was  left  to  the  assembly,  and  all  agreed 
that  it  was  beyond  their  power.  Then  the  white 
beaver  directed  him  to  go  to  an  island  in  the  Platte, 
near  the  Lone  Tree,  where  there  was  another  lodge 
of  the  Nahu'rac.  The  elk  took  him  to  this  island. 
Under  the  center  of  this  island  was  the  lodge.  The 
messenger  bird  was  with  him  and  went  into  the 
lodge  and  asked  the  Nahu'rac  to  help  him.  The 
white  beaver  made  a  speech,  and  said,  "  My  friend, 
I  have  heard  the  condition  that  you  are  in.  Of  all 
these  lodges  that  you  have  visited,  that  lodge  at 
Pa-huk'  is  the  head.  I  want  you  to  go  back  there, 
and  tell  the  leaders  there  that  they  are  the  rulers, 
and  that  whatever  they  shall  do  will  be  right,  and  will 


A  Story  of  Faith.  113 

be  agreed  to  by  the  other  lodges.  They  must  help 
you  if  they  can.  If  they  cannot  do  it,  no  one  can." 

When  the  elk  took  him  back  to  Pa-huk',  the  bird 
again  conducted  him  into  the  lodge.  He  had  left 
his  pipe  here.  When  he  entered  the  lodge  all  the 
animals  made  a  hissing  sound — JVo'a — they  were 
glad  to  see  him  again.  The  man  stood  in  the  mid 
dle  of  the  lodge  and  spoke.  He  said,  "  Now  you 
animals  all,  you  are  the  leaders.  You  see  how  poor 
my  mind  is.  I  am  tired  of  the  long  journeys  you 
have  sent  me  on.  I  want  you  to  take  pity  on  me." 

The  white  beaver  stood  up  and  took  the  pipe  and 
said,  "  Oh,  my  brother,  I  have  done  this  to  try  these 
other  lodges  of  Nahu'rac,  to  see  if  any  of  them  were 
equal  to  me.  That  was  the  reason  that  I  sent  you 
around  to  all  these  other  lodges,  to  see  if  any  of 
them  would  be  willing  to  undertake  to  rid  you  of 
your  burden.  But  I  see  that  they  all  still  acknowl 
edge  that  I  am  the  leader.  Now  I  have  here  an 
animal  that  I  think  will  undertake  to  help  you  and 
to  rid  you  of  your  trouble."  Saying  this  he  stepped 
out  to  the  right,  and  walked  past  some  of  the  Nahu'- 
rac  until  he  came  to  a  certain  animal — a  ground  dog 
— and  held  out  the  pipe  to  it.  There  were  twelve  of 
these  animals,  all  alike — small,  with  round  faces  and 


ii4  Folk- Tales. 

black  whiskers — sitting  on  their  haunches.  He  held 
out  the  pipe  to  the  head  one  of  these  twelve.  When 
the  white  beaver  reached  out  the  pipe  to  this  animal 
he  did  not  take  it.  He  hesitated  a  long  time,  and 
held  his  head  down.  He  did  not  want  to  take  the 
pipe.  He  looked  around  the  lodge,  and  at  the  man, 
and  drew  in  his  breath.  At  last  he  reached  out  his 
paws  and  took  the  pipe,  and  as  he  did  so,  all  the 
Nahu'rac  made  a  noise,  the  biggest  kind  of  a  noise. 
They  were  glad. 

Then  the  head  ground  dog  got  up  and  said,  "Now, 
doctors,  I  have  accepted  this  pipe  on  account  of  our 
servant,  who  is  so  faithful,  and  who  many  a  night  has 
lost  sleep  on  account  of  our  commands.  I  have  ac 
cepted  it  for  his  sake.  It  is  impossible  to  do  this 
thing.  If  it  had  been  earlier,  I  could  perhaps  have 
done  it.  Even  now  I  will  try,  and  if  I  fail  now,  we 
can  do  nothing  for  him." 

After  they  had  smoked,  they  told  the  man  to  go 
and  sit  down  opposite  the  entrance  to  the  lodge,  be 
tween  the  head  doctors  and  the  fire.  These  twelve 
animals  stood  up  and  walked  back  and  forth  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  fire  from  him,  facing  him.  After 
a  while  they  told  him  to  stand  up.  The  head  ground 
dog  now  asked  the  other  Nahu'rac  to  help  him,  by 


A  Story  of  Faith.  115 

singing,  and  they  all  sang;  and  the  ground  dogs 
danced,  keeping  time  to  the  singing,  and  moved 
their  hands  up  and  down,  and  made  their  jaws  go  as 
if  eating,  but  did  not  open  their  mouths. 

After  a  while  they  told  him  to  lie  down  with  his 
head  toward  the  doctors  and  his  feet  toward  the 
entrance.  After  he  had  lain  down,  they  began  to 
move  and  went  round  the  lodge  toward  him,  and 
the  head  ground  dog  jumped  over  the  man's  belly, 
and  as  he  jumped  over  him  he  was  seen  to  have  a 
big  piece  of  flesh  in  his  mouth,  and  was  eating  it. 
Another  ground  dog  followed  him,  and  another,  and 
each  one  ran  until  he  came  to  the  man,  and  as  each 
one  jumped  over  him,  it  had  a  piece  of  flesh  in  its 
mouth,  eating  it.  So  they  kept  going  until  they  had 
eaten  all  the  swelling.  The  young  man  was  uncon 
scious  all  this  time,  for  he  afterward  said  he  knew 
nothing  of  what  had  happened. 

The  head  ground  dog  spoke  to  the  animals,  and 
said,  "  Now,  Nahu'rac,  you  have  seen  what  I  can  do. 
This  is  the  power  that  I  have.  That  is  the  reason 
I  am  afraid  to  be  out  on  the  prairie,  because  when  I 
get  hungry  I  would  kill  men  and  would  eat  them. 
My  appetite  would  overpower  me,  and  I  do  not  want 
to  do  these  things,  I  want  to  be  friendly.  This  is  the 


n6  Folk- Tales. 

reason  that  I  do  not  travel  around  on  top  of  the 
ground.  I  stay  hid  all  the  time." 

The  man  was  still  unconscious,  and  the  head 
ground  dog  said,  "  Now,  Nahulrac^  I  do  not  under 
stand  how  to  restore  this  man.  I  leave  that  to  you." 
Then  the  ground  dogs  went  back  to  their  places  and 
sat  down.  Then  the  head  doctor,  the  beaver,  spoke 
to  the  bears.  He  said,  "  Now  this  man  belongs  to 
you.  Let  me  see  what  you  can  do."  The  head 
bear  got  up  and  said,  "Very  well,  I  will  come.  I 
will  let  you  see  what  I  can  do."  Then  the  bears 
stood  up  and  began  to  sing.  The  head  bear  would 
jump  on  top  of  the  man,  and  act  as  if  he  were  going 
to  tear  him  to  pieces,  and  the  others  would  take  hold 
of  him,  and  shake  him  around,  and  at  last  his  blood 
began  to  flow  and  the  man  began  to  breathe,  but  he 
was  still  unconscious.  After  a  while  he  moved  and 
came  to  life,  and  felt  himself  just  as  he  had  been 
many  months  before.  He  found  that  his  trouble 
was  gone  and  that  he  was  cured. 

The  head  bear  still  stood  by  him  and  spoke  to 
the  Nahu'rac.  He  said,  "Now,  Nahu'rac,  this  is 
what  I  can  do.  I  do  not  care  how  dangerously 
wounded  I  may  be,  I  know  how  to  cure  myself.  If 
they  leave  any  breath  at  all  in  me,  I  know  how  to 


A  Story  of  Faith.  117 

cure  myself."  Then  the  bears  went  to  their  place 
and  sat  down. 

The  man  got  up  and  spoke  to  the  Nahu'rac^  thank 
ing  them  for  what  they  had  done  for  him.  He  stayed 
there  several  nights,  watching  the  doings  of  the 
Nahu'rac.  They  taught  him  all  their  ways,  all  the 
animal  secrets.  The  head  doctor  said  to  him,  "  Now, 
I  am  going  to  send  you  back  to  your  home,  but  I 
will  ask  a  favor  of  you,  in  return  for  what  I  have 
done  for  you." 

The  man  answered  him,  "It  will  be  so,  whatever 
you  say." 

The  doctor  said,  "Through  you  let  my  animals 
that  move  in  the  river  be  fed.  Now  you  can  see 
who  we  are.  I  move  in  the  water.  I  have  no  breath, 
but  I  exist.  We  every  one  of  us  shall  die  except 
Ti-ra'-wa.  He  made  us,  just  as  he  made  you.  He 
made  you  to  live  in  the  air.  We  live  where  there  is 
no  air.  You  see  the  difference.  I  know  where  is 
that  great  water  that  surrounds  us  [the  ocean].  I 
know  that  the  heaven  [sky]  is  the  house  of  Ti-ra'- 
way  and  we  live  inside  of  it.  You  must  imitate  us. 
Do  as  we  do.  You  must  place  your  dependence  on 
us,  but  still,  if  anything  comes  up  that  is  very  diffi 
cult,  you  must  put  your  dependence  on  Ti-ra'-wa. 


n8  Folk- Tales. 

Ask  help  from  the  ruler.  He  made  us.  He  made 
every  thing.  There  are  different  ways  to  different 
creatures.  What  you  do  I  do  not  do,  and  what  I  do 
you  do  not  do.  We  are  different.  When  you 
imitate  us  you  must  always  blow  a  smoke  to  each  one 
of  these  four  chief  doctors,  once  to  each;  but  to 
Ti-ra'-wa  you  must  blow  four  smokes.  And  always 
blow  four  to  the  night,  to  the  east,  because  some 
thing  may  tell  you  in  your  sleep  a  thing  which  will 
happen.  This  smoke  represents  the  air  filled  with 
the  smoke  of  hazy  days.  That  smoke  is  pleasant  to 
Ti-ra'-wa.  He  made  it  himself.  Now  go  home,  and 
after  you  have  been  there  for  a  time,  go  and  pay  a 
visit  to  the  doctor  who  put  you  in  this  condition." 

The  young  man  went  home  to  his  village,  and  got 
there  in  the  night.  He  had  long  been  mourned  as 
dead,  and  his  father  was  now  poor  in  mind  on 
account  of  him.  He  went  into  his  father's  lodge, 
and  touched  him,  and  said,  "Wake  up,  I  am  here." 

His  father  could  not  believe  it.  He  had  thought 
him  dead  a  long  time.  He  said,  "Is  it  you,  or  is  it 
a  ghost  ? " 

The  young  man  answered,  "  It  is  I,  just  the  same 
as  ever.  Get  up,  and  go  and  tell  my  uncles  and  all 
my  relations  that  I  am  here.  I  want  you  to  give  me 


A  Story  of  Faith.  119 

something;  a  blue  bead,  and  some  Indian  tobacco, 
and  some  buffalo  meat,  and  a  pipe." 

The  father  went  about  and  told  his  relations  that 
his  son  had  come  back,  and  they  were  very  glad,  and 
came  into  the  lodge,  bringing  the  presents,  and  gave 
them  to  the  boy.  He  took  them,  and  went  down  to 
the  river,  and  threw  them  in,  and  they  were  carried 
down  to  the  Nahu'rac  lodge  at  Pa-huk '. 

A  few  days  after  this  the  boy  got  on  his  horse,  and 
rode  away  to  visit  the  doctor  who  had  brought  his 
trouble  on  him.  When  he  reached  the  village,  the 
people  said  to  the  doctor,  "A  man  is  coming  to  visit 
you,"  and  the  doctor  was  troubled,  for  he  knew  what 
he  had  done  to  the  boy.  But  he  thought  that  he 
knew  so  much  that  no  one  could  get  the  better  of 
him.  When  the  boy  came  to  the  lodge,  he  got  off 
his  horse,  went  in  and  was  welcomed.  After  they 
had  eaten,  the  boy  said  to  him,  "When  you  visited 
me  we  smoked  your  tobacco;  to-day  we  will  smoke 
mine." 

They  did  so,  for  the  doctor  thought  that  no  one 
could  overcome  him.  They  smoked  until  daylight, 
and  while  they  were  smoking,  the  boy  kept  moving 
his  jaws  as  if  eating,  but  did  not  open  his  mouth. 
At  daylight  the  boy  said  he  must  be  going.  He 


120  Folk- Tales. 

went,  and  when  he  got  down  to  the  river,  he  blew 
strongly  upon  the  ice,  and  immediately  the  water  in 
the  river  was  full  of  blood.  It  was  the  blood  of  the 
doctor.  It  seems  that  the  ground  dogs  had  taught 
the  young  man  how  to  do  their  things. 

When  the  people  found  the  doctor  he  was  dead 
in  his  lodge,  and  he  was  all  hollow.  All  his  blood 
and  the  inside  of  him  had  gone  into  the  river,  and 
had  gone  down  to  feed  the  animals.  So  the  boy 
kept  his  promise  to  the  Nahu'rac  and  had  revenge 
on  the  doctor. 

The  boy  was  the  greatest  doctor  in  the  Kit-ke- 
hahk'-i  band,  and  was  the  first  who  taught  them  all 
the  doctors'  ceremonies  that  they  have.  He  taught 
them  all  the  wonderful  things  that  the  doctors  can 
do,  and  many  other  things. 


OLD-FASHIONED    KNIFE. 


THE    BEAR    MAN. 

THERE  was  once  a  young  boy,  who,  when  he 
was  playing  with  his  fellows,  used  often  to 
imitate  the  ways  of  a  bear,  and  to  pretend  that  he 
was  one.    The  boys  did  not  know  much  about  bears. 
They  only  knew  that  there  were  such  animals. 

Now,  it  had  happened  that  before  this  boy  was 
born  his  mother  had  been  left  alone  at  home,  for  his 
father  had  gone  on  the  warpath  toward  the  enemy, 
and  this  was  about  five  or  six  months  before  the  babe 
would  be  born.  As  the  man  was  going  on  the  war 
path,  he  came  upon  a  little  bear  cub,  very  small, 
whose  mother  had  gone  away;  and  he  caught  it.  He 
did  not  want  to  kill  it  because  it  was  so  young  and 
helpless.  It  seemed  to  him  like  a  little  child.  It 
looked  up  to  him,  and  cried  after  him,  because  it 
knew  no  better;  and  he  hated  to  kill  it  or  to  leave  it 


122  Folk- Tales. 

there.  After  he  had  thought  about  this  for  a  while, 
he  put  a  string  around  its  neck  and  tied  some 
medicine  smoking  stuff,  Indian  tobacco,  to  it,  and 
said,  "Pi-rau1 — child,  you  are  a  Nahu'rac;  Ti-ra'-wa 
made  you,  and  takes  care  of  you.  He  will  look 
after  you,  but  I  put  these  things  about  your  neck  to 
show  that  I  have  good  feelings  toward  you.  I  hope 
that  when  my  child  is  born,  the  Nahu'rac  will  take 
care  of  him,  and  see  that  he  grows  up  a  good  man, 
and  I  hope  that  Ti-ra'-wa  will  take  care  of  you  and 
of  mine."  He  looked  at  the  little  bear  for  quite  a 
long  time,  and  talked  to  it,  and  then  he  went  on  his 
way. 

When  he  returned  to  the  village  from  his  warpath, 
he  told  his  wife  about  the  little  bear,  and  how  he  had 
looked  at  it  and  talked  to  it. 

When  his  child  was  born  it  had  all  the  ways  of  a 
bear.  So  it  is  among  the  Pawnees.  A  woman, 
before  her  child  is  born,  must  not  look  hard  at  any 
animal,  for  the  child  may  be  like  it.  There  was  a 
woman  in  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  band,  who  caught  a 
rabbit,  and,  because  it  was  gentle  and  soft,  she  took 
it  up  in  her  hands  and  held  it  before  her  face  and 
petted  it,  and  when  her  child  was  born  it  had  a  split 
nose,  like  a  rabbit.  This  man  is  still  alive. 


The  Bear  Man.  123 

This  boy,  who  was  like  a  bear,  as  he  grew  up,  had 
still  more  the  ways  of  a  bear.  Often  he  would  go 
off  by  himself,  and  try  to  pray  to  the  bear,  because 
he  felt  like  a  bear.  He  used  to  say,  in  a  joking  way, 
to  the  other  young  men,  that  he  could  make  himself 
a  bear. 

After  he  had  come  to  be  a  man,  he  started  out 
once  on  the  warpath  with  a  party  of  about  thirty-five 
others.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  party.  They  went 
away  up  on  the  Running  Water,  and  before  they  had 
come  to  any  village,  they  were  discovered  by  Sioux. 
The  enemy  pursued  them,  and  surrounded  them,  and 
fought  with  them.  The  Pawnees  were  overpowered, 
their  enemies  were  so  many,  and  all  were  killed. 

The  country  where  this  took  place  is  rocky,  and 
much  cedar  grows  there.  Many  bears  lived  there. 
The  battle  was  fought  in  the  morning;  and  the  Paw 
nees  were  all  killed  in  a  hollow.  Right  after  the 
fight,  in  the  afternoon,  two  bears  came  traveling 
along  by  this  place.  When  they  came  to  the  spot 
where  the  Pawnees  had  been  killed,  they  found  one 
of  the  bodies,  and  the  she  bear  recognized  it  as  that 
of  the  boy  who  was  like  a  bear.  She  called  to  the  he 
bear,  and  said,  "  Here  is  the  man  that  was  very  good 
to  us.-  He  often  sacrificed  smokes  to  us,  and  every 


124  Folk- Tales. 

time  he  ate  he  used  always  to  take  a  piece  of  food 
and  give  it  to  us,  saying, '  Here  is  something  for  you 
to  eat.  Eat  this.'  Here  is  the  one  that  always 
imitated  us,  and  sung  about  us,  and  talked  about  us. 
Can  you  do  anything  for  him?"  The  he  bear  said, 
"I  fear  I  cannot  do  it.  I  have  not  the  power,  but  I 
will  try.  I  can  do  anything  if  the  sun  is  shining.  I 
seem  to  have  more  power  when  the  sun  is  shining  on 
me."  That  day  it  was  cloudy  and  cold  and  snowing. 
Every  now  and  then  the  clouds  would  pass,  and  the 
sun  come  out  for  a  little  while,  and  then  the  clouds 
would  cover  it  up  again. 

The  man  was  all  cut  up,  pretty  nearly  hacked  in 
small  pieces,  for  he  was  the  bravest  of  all.  The  two 
bears  gathered  up  the  pieces  of  the  man,  and  put 
them  together,  and  then  the  he  bear  lay  down  and 
took  the  man  on  his  breast,  and  the  she  bear  lay  on 
top  of  it  to  warm  the  body.  They  worked  over  it 
with  their  medicine,  and  every  now  and  then  the  he 
bear  would  cry  out,  and  say,  "A-ti'-us — Father,  help 
me.  I  wish  the  sun  was  shining."  After  a  while  the 
dead  body  grew  warm,  and  then  began  to  breathe  a 
little.  It  was  still  all  cut  up,  but  it  began  to  have  life. 
Pretty  soon  the  man  began  to  move,  and  to  come  to 
life,  and  then  he  became  conscious  and  had  life, 


The  Bear  Man.  125 

When  he  came  to  himself  and  opened  his  eyes  he 
was  in  the  presence  of  two  bears.  The  he  bear 
spoke  to  him,  and  said,  "  It  is  not  through  me  that 
you  are  living.  It  was  the  she  bear  who  asked  for 
help  for  you,  and  had  you  brought  back  to  life. 
Now,  you  are  not  yet  whole  and  well.  You  must 
come  away  with  us,  and  live  with  us  for  a  time, 
until  all  your  wounds  are  healed."  The  bears  took 
him  away  with  them.  But  the  man  was  very  weak, 
and  every  now  and  then,  as  they  were  going  along, 
he  would  faint  and  fall  down;  but  still  they  would 
help  him  up  and  support  him;  and  they  took  him 
along  with  them,  until  they  came  to  a  cave  in  the 
rocks  among  the  cedars,  which  was  their  home. 
When  he  entered  the  cave,  he  found  there  their  young 
ones  that  they  had  left  behind  when  they  started  out. 

The  man  was  all  cut  up  and  gashed.  He  had  also 
been  scalped,  and  had  no  hair  on  his  head.  He 
lived  with  the  bears  until  he  was  quite  healed  of  his 
wounds,  and  also  had  come  to  understand  all  their 
ways.  The  two  old  bears  taught  him  everything 
that  they  knew.  The  he  bear  said  to  him,  "  None 
of  all  the  beings  and  animals  that  roam  over  the 
country  are  as  great  and  as  wise  as  the  bears.  No 
animal  is  equal  to  us.  When  we  get  hungry,  we  go 


126  Folk- Tales. 

out  and  kill  something  and  eat  it.  I  did  not  make 
the  wisdom  that  I  have.  I  am  an  animal,  and  I  look 
to  one  above.  He  made  me,  and  he  made  me  to  be 
great.  I  am  made  to  live  here  and  to  be  great,  but 
still  there  will  be  an  end  to  my  days,  just  as  with  all 
of  us  that  Tt-ra'-wa  has  created  upon  this  earth.  I 
am  going  to  make  you  a  great  man;  but  you  must 
not  deceive  yourself.  You  must  not  think  that  I  am 
great,  or  can  do  great  things  of  myself.  You  must 
always  look  up  above  for  the  giver  of  all  power.  You 
shall  be  great  in  war  and  great  in  wealth. 

"  Now  you  are  well,  and  I  shall  take  you  back  to 
your  home,  and  after  this  I  want  you  to  imitate  us. 
This  shall  be  a  part  of  your  greatness.  I  shall  look 
after  you.  I  shall  give  to  you  a  part  of  myself.  If  I 
am  killed,  you  shall  be  killed.  If  I  grow  old,  you 
shall  be  old. 

"I  want  you  to  look  at  one  of  the  trees  that 
Ti-ra'-wa  made  in  this  earth,  and  place  your  de 
pendence  on  it.  Ti  ra-wa  made  this  tree  (pointing 
to  a  cedar).  It  never  gets  old.  It  is  always  green 
and  young.  Take  notice  of  this  tree,  and  always  have 
it  with  you;  and  when  you  are  in  the  lodge  and  it 
thunders  and  lightens,*  throw  some  of  it  on  the  fire 
and  let  the  smoke  rise.  Hold  that  fast." 

*  A  cedar  is  never  struck  by  lightning. 


The  Bear  Man.  127 

The  he  bear  took  the  skin  of  a  bear,  and  made  a 
cap  for  him,  to  hide  his  naked  skull.  His  wounds 
were  now  all  healed,  and  he  was  well  and  strong. 
The  man's  people  had  nearly  forgotten  him,  it  had 
been  so  long  ago,  and  they  had  supposed  that  the 
whole  party  had  been  killed. 

Soon  after  this  the  he  bear  said,  "Now  we  will 
take  that  journey."  They  started,  and  went  to  the 
village,  and  waited  near  it  till  it  was  night.  Then 
the  bear  said  to  him,  ''Go  into  the  village,  and  tell 
your  father  that  you  are  here.  Then  get  for  me  a 
piece  of  buffalo  meat,  and  a  blue  bead,  and  some 
Indian  tobacco,  and  some  sweet  smelling  clay."* 

The  man  went  into  the  village,  and  his  father  was 
very  much  surprised,  and  very  glad  to  see  him  again. 
He  got  the  presents,  and  brought  them  to  the  bear, 
and  gave  them  to  him,  and  the  bear  talked  to  him. 

When  they  were  about  to  part,  the  bear  came  up  to 
him,  and  put  his  arms  about  him,  and  hugged  him, 
and  put  his  mouth  against  the  man's  mouth,  and 
said,  uAs  the  fur  that  I  am  in  has  touched  you  it 
will  make  you  great,  and  this  will  be  a  blessing  to 
you."  His  paws  were  around  the  man's  shoulders, 
and  he  drew  them  down  his  arms,  until  they  came  to 

*  A  green  clay,  which  they  roast,  and  which  then  turns  dark 
red,  and  has  a  sweet  smell. 


128  Folk- Talcs, 

his  hands,  and  he  held  them,  and  said,  "As  my  hands 
have  touched  your  hands,  they  are  made  great,  not 
to  fear  anything.  I  have  rubbed  my  hands  down 
over  you,  so  that  you  shall  be  as  tough  as  I  am. 
Because  my  mouth  has  touched  your  mouth  you 
shall  be  made  wise."  Then  he  left  him,  and  went 
away. 

So  this  man  was  the  greatest  of  all  warriors,  and 
was  brave.  He  was  like  a  bear.  He  originated  the 
bear  dance  which  still  exists  among  the  tribe  of  Paw 
nees.  He  came  to  be  an  old  man,  and  at  last  died 
of  old  age.  I  suspect  the  old  bear  died  at  the  same 
time. 


RATTLE. 


THE    GHOST   WIFE. 

ONE  time  there  were  living  together  a  man  and 
his  wife.      They  had  a  young  child.      The 
woman  died.     The  man  was  very  sad,  and  mourned 
for  his  wife. 

One  night  he  took  the  child  in  his  arms,  and  went 
out  from  the  village  to  the  place  where  his  wife  was 
buried,  and  stood  over  the  grave,  and  mourned  for  his 
wife.  The  little  child  was  very  helpless,  and  cried 
all  the  time.  The  man's  heart  was  sick  with  grief 
and  loneliness.  Late  in  the  night  he  fell  asleep, 
fainting  and  worn  out  with  sorrow.  After  a  while  he 
awoke,  and  when  he  looked  up,  there  was  a  form 
standing  by  him.  The  form  standing  there  was  the 
one  who  had  died.  She  spoke  to  her  husband,  and 
said,  "You  are  very  unhappy  here.  There  is  a  place 
to  go  where  we  would  not  be  unhappy.  Where  I 


130  Folk- Tales. 

have  been  nothing  bad  happens  to  one.  Here,  you 
never  know  what  evil  will  come  to  you.  You  and  the 
child  had  better  come  to  me." 

The  man  did  not  want  to  die.  He  said  to  her, 
"No;  it  will  be  better  if  you  can  come  back  to  us. 
We  love  you.  If  you  were  with  us  we  would  be  un 
happy  no  longer." 

For  a  long  time  they  discussed  this,  to  decide 
which  one  should  go  to  the  other.  At  length  the 
man  by  his  persuasions  overcame  her,  and  the  woman 
agreed  to  come  back.  She  said  to  the  man,  "  If  I  am 
to  come  back  you  must  do  exactly  as  I  tell  you  for 
four  nights.  For  four  days  the  curtain  must  remain 
let  down  before  my  sleeping  place;  it  must  not  be 
raised;  no  one  must  look  behind  it." 

The  man  did  as  he  had  been  told,  and  after  four 
days  had  passed,  the  curtain  was  lifted,  and  the 
woman  came  out  from  behind  it.  Then  they  all  saw 
her,  first  her  relations,  and  afterward  the  whole  tribe. 
Her  husband  and  her  child  were  very  glad,  and  they 
lived  happily  together. 

A  long  time  after  this,  the  man  took  another  wife. 
The  first  wife  was  always  pleasant  and  good-natured, 
but  the  new  one  was  bad-tempered,  and  after  some 
time  she  grew  jealous  of  the  first  woman,  and  quar- 


The  Ghost  Wife.  131 

reled  with  her.  At  length,  one  day  the  last  married 
became  angry  with  the  other,  and  called  her  bad 
names,  and  finally  said  to  her,  "You  ought  not  to  be 
here.  You  are  nothing  but  a  ghost,  anyway." 

That  night  when  the  man  went  to  bed,  he  lay 
down,  as  was  his  custom,  by  the  side  of  his  first  wife. 
During  the  night  he  awoke,  and  found  that  his  wife 
had  disappeared.  She  was  seen  no  more.  The  next 
night  after  this  happened,  the  man  and  the  child 
both  died  in  sleep.  The  wife  had  called  them  to 
her.  They  had  gone  to  that  place  where  there  is  a 
living. 

This  convinced  everybody  that  there  is  a  here 
after. 


TI-KE-WA-KUSH. 


THE  MAN  WHO  CALLED  THE  BUFFALO. 

THIS  happened  in  the  olden  time  before  we  had 
met  the  white  people.  Then  the  different 
bands  lived  in  separate  villages.  The  lodges  were 
made  of  dirt.  The  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  band  went  off  on 
a  winter  hunt,  roaming  over  the  country,  as  they 
used  to  do,  after  buffalo.  At  this  time  they  did  not 
find  the  buffalo  near.  They  scouted  in  all  directions, 
but  could  discover  no  signs  of  them.  It  was  a  hard 
time  of  starvation.  The  children  cried  and  the 
women  cried;  they  had  nothing  at  all  to  eat. 

There  was  a  person  who  looked  at  the  children 
crying  for  something  to  eat,  and  it  touched  his  heart. 
They  were  very  poor,  and  he  felt  sorry  for  them. 
He  said  to  the  Head  Chief,  "Tell  the  chiefs  and 
other  head  men  to  do  what  I  tell  them.  My  heart  is 


Ti-ke-wa-kush.  133 

sick  on  account  of  the  suffering  of  the  people.  It 
may  be  that  I  can  help  them.  Let  a  new  lodge  be 
set  up  outside  the  village  for  us  to  meet  in.  I  will 
see  if  I  can  do  anything  to  relieve  the  tribe."  The 
Chief  said  that  it  was  well  to  do  this,  and  he  gave 
orders  for  it. 

While  they  were  preparing  to  build  this  lodge 
they  would  miss  this  man  in  the  night.  He  would 
disappear  like  a  wind,  and  go  off  a  long  way,  and 
just  as  daylight  came,  he  would  be  there  again. 
Sometimes,  while  sitting  in  his  own  lodge  during  the 
day,  he  would  reach  behind  him,  and  bring  out  a 
small  piece  of  buffalo  meat,  fat  and  lean,  and  would 
give  it  to  some  one,  saying,  "When  you  have  had 
enough,  save  what  is  left,  and  give  it  to  some  one 
else."  When  he  would  give  this  small  piece  of  meat 
to  any  one,  the  person  would  think,  "This  is  not 
enough  to  satisfy  my  hunger;  "  but  after  eating  until 
he  was  full,  there  was  always  enough  left  to  give  to 
some  other  person. 

In  those  days  it  was  the  custom  for  the  Head 
Chief  of  the  tribe,  once  in  a  while,  to  mount  his 
horse,  and  ride  about  through  the  village,  talking  to 
the  people,  and  giving  them  good  advice,  and  telling 
them  that  they  ought  to  do  what  was  right  by  each 


134 


Folk-  Tales. 


other.  At  this  time  the  Chief  spoke  to  the  people, 
and  explained  that  this  man  was  going  to  try  to 
benefit  the  tribe.  So  the  people  made  him  many 
fine  presents,  otter  skins  and  eagle  feathers,  and 
when  they  gave  him  these  things  each  one  said,  "I 
give  you  this.  It  is  for  yourself.  Try  to  help  us." 
He  thanked  them  for  these  presents,  and  when  they 
were  all  gathered  together  he  said,  "  Now  you  chiefs 
and  head  men  of  the  tribe,  and  you  people,  you  have 
done  well  to  give  me  these  things.  I  shall  give  them 
to  that  person  who  gives  me  that  power,  and  who 
has  taken  pity  on  me.  I  shall  let  you  starve  yet  four 
days.  Then  help  will  come." 

During  these  four  days,  every  day  and  night  he 
disappeared,  but  would  come  back  the  same  night. 
He  would  say  to  the  people  that  he  had  been  far  off, 
where  it  would  take  a  person  three  or  four  days  to 
go,  but  he  was  always  back  the  same  night.  When 
he  got  back  on  the  fourth  night,  he  told  the  people 
that  the  buffalo  were  near,  that  the  next  morning 
they  would  be  but  a  little  way  off.  He  went  up  on 
the  hill  near  the  camp,  and  sacrificed  some  eagle 
feathers,  and  some  blue  beads,  and  some  Indian 
tobacco,  and  then  returned  to  the  camp.  Then  he 
said  to  the  people,  "When  that  object  comes  to  that 


Ti-ke-wa-kush.  135 

place  of  sacrifice,  do  not  interfere  with  it;  do  not 
turn  it  back.  Let  it  go  by.  Just  watch  and  see." 

The  next  morning  at  daylight,  all  the  people  came 
out  of  their  lodges  to  watch  this  hill,  and  the  place 
where  he  had  sacrificed.  While  they  were  looking 
they  saw  a  great  buffalo  bull  come  up  over  the  hill  to 
the  place.  He  stood  there  for  a  short  time  and 
looked  about,  and  then  he  walked  on  down  the  hill, 
and  went  galloping  off  past  the  village.  Then  this 
man  spoke  to  the  people,  and  said,  "There.  That  is 
what  I  meant.  That  is  the  leader  of  the  buffalo; 
where  he  went  the  whole  herd  will  follow." 

He  sent  his  servant  to  the  chiefs  to  tell  them  to 
choose  four  boys,  and  let  them  go  to  the  top  of  the 
hill  where  the  bull  had  come  over,  and  to  look  be 
yond  it.  The  boys  were  sent,  and  ran  to  the  top  of 
the  hill,  and  when  they  looked  over  beyond  it  they 
stopped,  and  then  turned,  and  came  back,  running. 
They  went  to  the  chiefs'  lodge,  and  said  to  the  chiefs 
sitting  there,  "  Beyond  that  place  of  sacrifice  there  is 
coming  a  whole  herd  of  buffalo;  many,  many,  crowd 
ing  and  pushing  each  other." 

Then,  as  it  used  to  be  in  the  old  times,  as  soon  as 
the  young  men  had  told  the  Chief  that  the  buffalo 
were  coming,  the  Chief  rode  about  the  village,  and 


136  Folk- Tales. 

told  every  one  to  get  ready  to  chase  them.  He  said 
to  them  besides,  "  Do  not  leave  anything  on  the 
killing  ground.  Bring  into  the  camp  not  only  the 
meat  and  hides,  but  the  heads  and  legs  and  all  parts. 
Bring  the  best  portions  in  first,  and  take  them  over 
to  the  new  lodge,  so  that  we  may  have  a  feast  there." 
For  so  the  man  had  directed. 

Presently  the  buffalo  came  over  the  hill,  and  the 
people  were  ready,  and  they  made  a  surround,  and 
killed  all  that  they  could,  and  brought  them  home. 
Each  man  brought  in  his  ribs  and  his  young  buffalo, 
and  left  them  there  at  that  lodge.  The  other  parts 
they  brought  into  the  village,  as  he  had  directed. 
After  they  had  brought  in  this  meat,  they  went  to 
the  lodge,  and  staid  there  four  days  and  four  nights, 
and  had  a  great  feast,  roasting  these  ribs.  The  man 
told  them  that  they  would  make  four  surrounds  like 
this,  and  to  get  all  the  meat  that  they  could,  "But," 
he  said,  "in  surrounding  these  buffalo  you  must  see 
that  all  the  meat  is  saved.  Ti-ra'-wa  does  not  like 
the  people  to  waste  the  buffalo,  and  for  that  reason 
I  advise  you  to  make  good  use  of  all  you  kill." 
During  the  four  nights  they  feasted  this  man  used 
to  disappear  each  night. 

On  the  night  of  the  fourth  day  he  said  to  the  peo- 


Ti-ke-wa-kush.  137 

pie,  "To-morrow  the  buffalo  will  come  again,  and 
you  will  make  another  surround.  Be  careful  not  to 
kill  a  yellow  calf — a  little  one — that  you  will  see  with 
the  herd,  nor  its  mother."  This  was  in  winter,  and 
yet  the  calf  was  the  same  color  as  a  young  calf  born 
in  the  spring.  They  made  the  surround,  and  let  the 
yellow  calf  and  its  mother  go. 

A  good  many  men  in  the  tribe  saw  that  this  man 
was  great,  and  that  he  had  done  great  things  for  the 
tribe,  and  they  made  him  many  presents,  the  best 
horses  that  they  had.  He  thanked  them,  but  he  did 
not  want  to  accept  the  presents.  The  tribe  believed 
that  he  had  done  this  wonderful  thing — had  brought 
them  buffalo — and  all  the  people  wanted  to  do  just 
what  he  told  them  to. 

In  the  first  two  surrounds  they  killed  many  buffalo, 
and  made  much  dried  meat.  All  their  sacks  were 
full,  and  the  dried  meat  was  piled  up  out  of  doors. 
After  the  second  surround,  they  feasted  as  before. 

After  four  days,  as  they  were  going  out  to  sur 
round  the  buffalo  the  third  time,  the  wind  changed, 
and  before  the  people  got  near  them,  the  buffalo 
smelt  them,  and  stampeded.  While  they  were  gal 
loping  away,  the  man  ran  up  on  to  the  top  of  the 
hill,  to  the  place  of  sacrifice,  carrying  a  pole,  on 


138  Folk- Tales. 

which  was  tied  the  skin  of  a  kit  fox;  and  when  he 
saw  the  buffalo  running,  and  that  the  people  could 
not  catch  them,  he  waved  his  pole,  and  called  out 
Ska-a-a-a!  and  the  buffalo  turned  right  about,  and 
charged  back  right  through  the  people,  and  they 
killed  many  of  them.  He  wished  to  show  the  people 
that  he  had  the  power  over  the  buffalo. 

After  the  third  surround  they  had  a  great  deal  of 
meat,  and  he  called  the  chiefs  together  and  said, 
"Now,  my  chiefs,  are  you  satisfied?"  They  said, 
"Yes,  we  are  satisfied,  and  we  are  thankful  to  you 
for  taking  pity  on  us  and  helping  us.  It  is  through 
your  power  that  the  tribe  has  been  saved  from 
starving  to  death."  He  said,  "You  are  to  make  one 
more  surround,  and  that  will  be  the  end.  I  want 
you  to  get  all  you  can.  Kill  as  many  as  possible,  for 
this  will  be  the  last  of  the  buffalo  this  winter.  Those 
presents  that  you  have  made  to  me,  and  that  I  did 
not  wish  to  take,  I  give  them  back  to  you."  Some 
of  the  people  would  not  take  back  the  presents,  but 
insisted  that  he  should  keep  them,  and  at  last  he 
said  he  would  do  so. 

The  fourth  surround  was  made,  and  the  people 
killed  many  buffalo,  and  saved  the  meat.  The  night 
after  this  last  surround,  he  disappeared  and  drove 


Ti-ke-wa-kush.  139 

the  buffalo  back.  The  next  morning  he  told  the 
people  to  look  about,  and  tell  him  if  they  saw  any 
thing.  They  did  so,  but  they  could  not  see  any 
buffalo. 

The  next  day  they  moved  camp,  and  went  east 
toward  their  home.  They  had  so  much  dried  meat 
that  they  could  not  take  it  all  at  once,  but  had  to 
come  back  and  make  two  trips  for  it.  When  they 
moved  below,  going  east,  they  had  no  fresh  meat, 
only  dried  meat;  but  sometimes  when  this  man  would 
come  in  from  his  journeys,  he  would  bring  a  piece  of 
meat — a  little  piece — and  he  would  divide  it  up 
among  the  people,  and  they  would  put  it  into  the 
kettles  and  boil  it,  and  everybody  would  eat,  but 
they  could  not  eat  it  all  up.  There  would  always  be 
some  left  over.  This  man  was  so  wonderful  that  he 
could  change  even  the  buffalo  chips  that  you  see 
on  the  prairie  into  meat.  He  would  cover  them  up 
with  his  robe,  and  when  he  would  take  it  off 
again,  you  would  see  there  pounded  buffalo  meat 
and  tallow  (pemmican),  tup-o-har' -ash. 

The  man  was  not  married;  he  was  a  young  man, 
and  by  this  time  the  people  thought  that  he  was  one 
of  the  greatest  men  in  the  tribe,  and  they  wanted 
him  to  marry.  They  went  to  one  of  the  chiefs  and 


140  Folk- Tales. 

told  him  that  they  wanted  him  to  be  this  man's 
father-in-law,  for  they  wanted  him  to  raise  children, 
thinking  that  they  might  do  something  to  benefit 
the  tribe.  They  did  not  want  that  race  to  die  out. 
The  old  people  say  that  it  would  have  been  good  if 
he  had  had  children,  but  he  had  none.  If  he  had, 
perhaps  they  would  have  had  the  same  power  as 
their  father. 

That  person  called  the  buffalo  twice,  and  twice 
saved  the  tribe  from  a  famine.  The  second  time 
the  suffering  was  great,  and  they  held  a  council  to 
ask  him  to  help  the  tribe.  They  filled  up  the  pipe 
and  held  it  out  to  him,  asking  him  to  take  pity  on 
the  tribe.  He  took  the  pipe,  and  lighted  it,  and 
smoked.  He  did  it  in  the  same  way  as  the  first 
time,  and  they  made  four  surrounds,  and  got  much 
meat. 

When  this  man  died,  all  the  people  mourned  for 
him  a  long  time.  The  Chief  would  ride  around  the 
village  and  call  out,  "  Now  I  am  poor  in  mind  on 
account  of  the  death  of  this  man,  because  he  took 
pity  on  us  and  saved  the  tribe.  Now  he  is  gone  and 
there  is  no  one  left  like  him." 

This  is  a  true  and  sacred  story  that  belongs  to  the 
Kit-ke-hahk'-i  band.  It  happened  once  long  ago, 


Ti-ke-wa-kush. 


141 


and  has  been  handed  down  from  father  to  son  in 
this  band.  The  Skidi  had  a  man  who  once  called 
the  buffalo,  causing  them  to  return  when  stampeded, 
as  was  done  in  this  story. 

NOTE. — Big  Knife,  a  Skidi,  who  died  only  recently, 
said  that  the  man  was  alive  in  his  time.  Kuru'ks-u 
le-shar  (Bear  Chief),  a  Skidi,  says  that  he  knew  the 
man.  His  name  was  Carrying  Mother. 


BABY    ON    BOARD, 


PA-HU-KA'-TAWA, 

ABOUT  the  end  of  the  winter,  before  the  grass 
began  to  grow  in  the  spring,  a  company  of 
three  brothers  and  two  other  men  went  out  from  the 
village  to  trap  beaver.  When  they  had  been  gone 
about  ten  days,  and  had  got  up  above  the  Forks  of 
the  Loup  River,  they  camped  on  the  South  Fork, 
and  in  the  morning  sent  one  man  ahead  to  see  if  he 
could  find  any  beaver  sign,  and  could  look  out  a 
good  trapping  ground. 

When  he  had  gone  a  little  distance  from  the  camp, 
he  saw  some  Sioux,  and  at  the  same  moment  they 
saw  him.  He  did  not  run  back  to  the  camp;  he  was 
too  anxious  to  save  himself;  but  ran  across  to  a  little 
creek,  and  hid  in  the  brush,  not  trying  to  let  his 
brothers  know  that  the  enemy  were  near.  The  Sioux 
followed  him  and  found  him,  and  chased  him  about, 


Pa-hu-ka'-tawa.  143 

and  shot  at  him  all  day,  until  near  sundown,  when 
they  killed  him. 

The  four  other  men  had  stopped  in  camp,  but  were 
not  so  far  off  but  that  they  could  hear  the  shouts  and 
yells,  and  they  ran  off  from  the  camp,  and  hid  them 
selves  and  waited.  When  the  other  man  did  not 
come  back,  they  knew  that  he  had  been  killed. 

The  next  morning,  the  four  men  talked  together. 
One  said,  "We  had  better  go  up  and  see  if  he  is 
killed."  Another  said,  "Yes,  let  us  go  there.  It 
may  be  that  we  can  bury  him."  So  they  went  up 
where  he  had  been,  going  very  carefully,  and  looking 
over  all  the  hills  as  they  went,  so  as  to  see  any  ene 
mies  if  they  were  about.  They  found  him.  He  was 
dead,  shot  full  of  arrows,  scalped,  his  whole  head 
skinned,  his  arms  and  legs  unjointed,  his  head  cut 
off;  he  was  all  cut  to  pieces.  So  they  thought  that 
there  was  not  enough  of  him  left  to  bury,  and  be 
sides,  those  killed  in  battle  are  often  left  unburied. 
When  they  found  how  it  was,  they  started  back  to 
the  village,  and  when  they  came  close  to  it,  one  of 
the  men  called  out,  "Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  is  killed  !"  He 
called  that  out  so  that  the  people  might  know,  and 
might  begin  to  mourn. 

When  they  came  into  the  village,  the  relations  of 


i44  Folk-Tales. 

this  man  felt  very  badly  because  he  was  killed.  It 
was  coming  on  toward  the  time  when  they  begin  to 
clear  up  their  patches,  to  plant  the  corn,  and  to  hoe, 
and  his  father  and  mother  mourned,  and  said,  "Now 
we  have  no  one  to  help  us  hoe.  We  are  old,  and  he 
helped  us;  but  now  he  is  gone."  So  they  mourned 
for  him. 

They  did  not  visit  the  place  where  he  had  been 
killed  for  some  time.  It  was  now  spring,  and  they 
were  planting,  and  hoeing  the  corn,  and  when  they 
got  through  their  work,  the  whole  tribe  started  out 
on  the  summer  hunt  to  get  buffalo,  as  they  used  to 
do.  They  started  up  the  Loup,  and  when  they  had 
traveled  along  a  number  of  days,  they  came  near  the 
place  where  the  man  had  been  killed.  When  they  got 
there,  the  men  who  had  been  with  him  said,  "This  is 
the  place  where  Pa-hu-ka-tawa  was  killed,"  and  his 
father  and  mother  and  all  his  relations  went  over  to 
the  place  where  he  had  lain,  to  gather  his  bones  to 
gether  and  then  to  bury  them.  When  they  got  to 
the  place,  they  could  find  no  bones  at  all,  but  the  ar 
rows  were  there,  sticking  straight  up  in  the  ground; 
all  the  arrows  that  had  been  shot  into  the  body. 
They  wondered  that  they  had  not  fallen  down,  for 
they  thought  that  the  wolves  might  have  dragged 


Pa-hu-ka'-tawa.  145 

the  body,  but  when  they  looked  everywhere  about 
for  the  bones,  they  could  find  no  sign  of  them  any 
where.  It  seemed  strange  to  them  that  the  arrows 
should  be  there  standing  up  in  the  ground,  and  they 
wondered  what  had  become  of  the  bones.  At  length 
they  gave  up  looking  for  them,  and  went  back  to  the 
camp.  When  they  could  not  find  the  bones,  they  went 
on  and  hunted  buffalo,  and  killed  plenty,  and  made 
dried  meat.  After  two  months  they  started  back  to 
the  village,  going  down  the  Platte  River.  His  mother 
had  cried  so  much  for  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa^  that  she  had 
become  blind. 

One  pleasant  afternoon  they  were  camped  on  the 
Platte.  The  evening  was  warm  and  soft  and  still.  As 
the  sun  went  down  toward  the  earth,  long  shining 
rays  seemed  to  come  down  from  it  to  the  ground. 
All  through  the  air  was  a  light  smoke,  and  in  the 
west  the  sky  was  red.  Just  as  the  sun  was  setting, 
the  people  all  heard  a  voice  calling  from  the  other 
side  of  the  river.  They  listened;  and  the  voice  said, 
"Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  is  coming  back  to  you."  Then  all 
the  Indians  jumped  up,  and  ran  across  the  river  to 
meet  him,  for  they  thought  perhaps  he  was  coming 
back.  When  they  had  got  to  the  other  side,  they 
looked  about,  but  could  see  no  one.  Then  they 


146  Folk- Tales. 

heard  a  voice  from  behind  them,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  camp,  which  said,  "He  is  coming  from  here." 
They  all  turned  round  and  ran  back  to  the  other 
side  of  the  camp;  but  no  one  was  there;  and  in  a 
little  while  they  heard  the  voice  again,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  saying,  "He  is  coming."  Then 
they  knew  it  was  only  a  voice  and  not  a  person. 
They  stopped  running  about,  and  that  night  they 
talked  about  the  voice.  The  next  day  they  went  on 
down  the  river,  and  at  length  got  back  to  the  main 
village.  There  they  stayed  six  months,  and  by  this 
time  their  dried  meat  was  all  eaten,  and  it  was 
toward  spring. 

The  mother  of  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  had  her  bed  near 
the  door  of  the  lodge  on  the  left  hand  side,  the  last 
bed  next  to  the  door.  One  night,  at  midnight,  he 
came  into  the  lodge,  and  touched  his  mother  and 
said,  "Mother!  mother!"  His  mother  used  to  dream 
of  him  almost  every  night,  and  she  thought  she  was 
dreaming  now.  She  said,  "  Oh,  my  son,  do  not  do 
this.  You  are  deceiving  me  again."  He  stopped; 
but  presently  he  touched  her  again,  and  pushed  her 
shoulder,  and  she  awoke. 

He  said  to  her,  "Mother,  I  am  here,"  and  she 
reached  out  and  felt  him. 


Pa-hu-ka'-tawa.  147 

She  said,  "Are  you  really  my  son?" 

He  answered,  "Yes,  I  am  your  son." 

Then  she  put  her  arms  around  him,  and  hugged 
him,  and  said  to  him,  "  Oh,  my  son,  my  son,  you 
have  come  back  to  me."  She  cried,  she  was  so  glad. 

Then  they  talked  together.  He  gave  her  a  piece 
of  meat — a  piece  of  fresh  buffalo  meat — though  they 
had  had  no  fresh  meat  in  the  village  for  six  months. 
He  said  to  his  mother,  "I  am  really  alive,  though  I 
was  killed.  The  Nahu'rac  (animals)  took  pity  on 
me,  and  have  made  me  alive  again.  And  now  I  am 
going  off;  but  do  not  cry  about  me  any  more." 
Then  he  went  away. 

The  next  morning,  when  his  mother  awoke,  she 
found  by  her  side  the  piece  of  fresh  meat,  and  she 
began  to  cook  it  on  the  coals.  The  people  wondered 
where  she  got  the  fresh  meat,  and  asked  her  about 
it,  but  she  would  not  tell  them  where  she  got  it,  for 
her  son  had  told  her  to  say  nothing.  They  asked 
her  again  where  she  got  it,  and  she  told  them  she 
found  it  in  her  bed. 

After  a  long  time  her  son  came  again  in  the  night, 
and  went  into  the  lodge,  and  spoke  to  his  mother, 
saying,  "Mother,  I  am  here  again."  She  awoke, 
and  rejoiced  that  he  had  come  back.  He  said  to 


148  Folk-Tales. 

her,  "My  mother,  I  know  that  you  are  poor.  You 
are  blind  on  account  of  me,  because  you  have  cried 
so  much.  Now,  my  mother,  there  is  standing  by  the 
side  of  your  daughter's  bed,  water  in  a  wooden  bowl. 
After  I  have  left  you  to-night,  go  over  there,  and 
put  your  face  down  deep  into  the  water,  and  open 
your  eyes  in  the  water,  and  then  you  will  see."  Be 
fore  he  left  her  he  gave  her  some  ka'wis.  * 

After  he  had  gone,  she  did  as  he  had  told  her. 
She  got  up,  and  feeling  her  way  along  with  her 
hands,  crept  into  the  place  where  her  daughter  slept. 
There  she  felt  the  wooden  bowl  with  water  in  it,  and 
she  put  her  face  deep  down  into  the  water,  and 
opened  her  eyes  in  it,  and  when  she  took  her  face 
out  of  the  water,  and  opened  her  eyes  again,  she 
could  see.  Then  she  was  glad.  Everybody  won 
dered  how  the  mother's  eyes  had  been  cured,  but 
she  told  no  one,  except  only  her  oldest  son. 

After  a  long  time  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  came  down 
again  to  see  his  mother.  He  said  to  her,  "  Mother, 
I  am  going  up  to  see  my  oldest  brother."  He  went 
to  see  his  brother  in  the  night.  His  brother  was 
expecting  him,  for  his  mother  had  warned  him. 
Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  said,  "  Now,  my  brother,  I  think  you 

*  Chopped  buffalo  meat  tied  up  in  the  small  intestine. 


Pa-hu-ka'-tawa.  149 

have  heard  that  I  come  all  the  time  to  see  our 
mother.  I  wish  that  you  would  put  up  your  lodge 
outside  the  camp,  so  that  I  can  come  and  see  you 
often.  I  want  to  talk  to  you,  and  tell  you  my 
thoughts  and  all  my  troubles.  I  am  a  spirit."  His 
brother  answered  him  that  he  would  do  as  he  had 
asked,  and  the  first  night  after  the  lodge  had  been 
set  up  outside  the  camp,  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  came  down, 
and  said  to  his  brother,  "  To-morrow  night  I  want 
you  to  select  the  two  bravest  men  in  the  tribe,  and 
let  them  go  about  through  the  camp,  and  call  all  the 
chiefs  and  all  the  bravest  warriors  in  the  tribe,  and 
let  them  gather  at  your  home.  Do  not  build  any  fire 
in  the  lodge.  Let  it  all  be  dark,  for  I  am  coming 
down  in  the  night  to  see  them." 

When  the  next  night  came,  the  chiefs  and  the 
braves  gathered  at  the  lodge  just  about  dark.  They 
made  no  fire,  but  sat  there  waiting  for  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa 
to  come  down.  After  a  while  he  came  down  to  the 
lodge,  and  came  in  where  they  were  sitting.  When 
they  were  all  silent,  he  came  in,  and  every  step  he 
made  it  seemed  that  sparks  of  fire  were  flying  out 
from  him.  He  went  and  stood  before  his  brother, 
and  said  to  him,  "I  am  in  everything;  in  the  grass, 
the  water,  the  trees.  I  am  a  part  of  all  these  things. 


150  Folk- Tales. 

I  know  every  thought  of  yours,  and  if  you  only 
whispered,  I  would  hear  it.  I  know  everything,  and 
about  everything,  even  about  the  ocean  which  is  so 
far  off,  and  where  the  water  is  salt. 

"  There  are  two  dances  that  I  like,  in  which  there 
are  songs  sung  about  me."  Then  he  sang  these 
songs  and  told  them  how  to  dance  these  dances.* 
He  said,  "  Dance  these  dances  and  sing  about  me, 
calling  me  by  name." 

Then  he  said,  "  Brother,  I  want  you  to  know  that 
there  is  a  tribe  of  your  enemies  getting  ready  to  go 
on  the  warpath  against  you.  I  will  let  you  know 
when  they  start,  and  all  they  do.  Every  move  they 
make  I  will  tell  you  of.  They  are  coming  from  far 
up  the  Missouri  River." 

Two  or  three  nights  later  Pa-hu-kd-tawa  appeared 
to  his  brother,  and  said,  "They  are  coming.  To 
morrow  night  they  will  be  here  spying  round  the 
camp.  Be  ready  for  them.  You  must  ask  me  to 
take  pity  on  you,  telling  me  what  you  want  to  do, 
and  I  will  make  you  strong,  so  that  you  can  succeed. 
If  you  want  to  strike  two  or  three,  ask  me.  If  you 
want  to  kill  two  or  three,  tell  me.  You  must  call  me 
grandfather." 

*  These  dances  afterward  were  practiced  in  two  of  the  secret 
societies. 


Pa-hu-ka'-tawa.  151 

The  next  night  they  danced  and  asked  him  to 
take  pity  on  them.  One  young  man  prayed,  saying, 
"Let  me  strike  nine,  and  at  the  tenth  let  me  be 
wounded,  but  let  me  not  die."  A  second  young 
man  prayed,  saying,  "I  want  to  strike  five  and  cap 
ture  the  biggest  man  in  the  party."  Another  man 
asked  him,  "  Let  me  strike  two,  and  then  let  me  be 
killed."  To  each  one  who  asked  a  favor  of  him,  he 
said,  "Let  it  be  so."  They  did  not  see  him,  for 
there  was  no  fire  in  the  lodge.  It  was  dark. 

He  said  to  them,  "Be  ready.  To-morrow  morn 
ing  is  the  time  when  the  enemy  will  attack  you.  I 
will  send  a  fog  from  the  north  as  a  warning.  They 
will  come  down  toward  the  village,  and  you  must  go 
out  on  the  plain  in  front  of  the  village,  and  have  a 
skirmish  with  them.  Then  draw  off,  and  look  to 
ward  the  point  of  bluff  which  runs  down  into  the 
plain  on  the  east  end  of  the  battle  field.  Watch  that 
point  and  you  will  see  me.  I  will  appear  to  you 
there.  And  this  shall  be  a  sign  to  you  that  it  is  I 
whom  you  see.  When  I  come  up  over  that  point 
and  turn  around,  facing  to  the  north,  the  wind  will 
change  and  will  come  from  the  south.  And  when 
the  wind  blows  from  the  south,  you  make  a  charge 
on  them." 


152  Folk- Tales. 

So  it  was.  The  next  morning  the  enemy  made  an 
attack  on  them,  and  came  down  toward  the  village. 
It  was  the  very  day  he  had  said.  The  warriors  went 
out  on  the  plain  to  meet  them.  They  were  wonder 
ing  in  what  shape  Pa-hu-ka' -tawa  would  appear  to 
them,  how  he  would  look.  On  that  morning,  before 
the  Sioux  appeared,  a  white  fog  came  down  from 
the  north.  Then  the  Sioux  made  the  attack,  and 
the  people  began  to  look  for  Pa-hu-ka' -taw a.  And 
while  they  were  looking  toward  the  bluff,  a  great 
white  wolf  came  up  over  the  point,  and  stood  looking 
first  one  way  and  then  another,  and  then  it  turned 
around  and  faced  the  north.  And  immediately  the 
wind  changed  and  blew  from  the  south.  When  the 
wolf  appeared,  some  of  the  braves  doubted  whether 
it  was  Pa-hu-ka' -taw  a,  but  when  it  turned  round, 
and  the  wind  changed,  then  they  knew  that  it  was 
he. 

Then  they  made  the  charge,  and  each  one  of  those 
who  had  asked  a  favor  received  it.  In  every  case 
what  Pa-hu-ka'- tawa  had  promised  came  true.  The 
man  who  had  prayed  that  he  might  strike  nine  and 
at  the  tenth  be  wounded,  struck  nine  and  was 
wounded  at  the  tenth,  but  he  did  not  die;  the  one 
Who  asked  to  strike  five,  and  to  capture  the  biggest 


Pa-hu-kd -tawa.  153 

man  in  the  party,  did  so.  He  caught  the  prisoner, 
and  overcame  him,  and  put  a  rope  around  his  neck, 
and  led  him  into  the  village.  And  when  he  got  him 
to  the  village  the  women  beat  the  captive  with  sticks 
and  clubs,  and  threw  dirt  at  him,  and  had  lots  of  fun 
with  him.  The  young  man  who  had  asked  it,  killed 
two,  and  then  was  himself  killed.  All  that  Pa-hu- 
ka!-tawa  had  promised  came  to  pass. 

The  people  killed  many  of  the  Sioux,  and  drove 
them  far,  chasing  and  killing  them  all  day  long. 
Then  they  came  back  to  the  village,  bringing  with 
them  the  scalps  and  the  weapons  that  they  had 
taken,  the  bows  and  the  spears,  the  shields  and  the 
war  bonnets.  They  danced  in  the  village,  and  sang 
and  rejoiced.  Every  one  was  glad  because  the 
people  had  won  a  great  victory. 

The  next  night  after  the  day  of  the  battle,  Pa-hu- 
ka'-tawa  came  down  to  his  brother's  lodge,  and  told 
him  that  he  wanted  to  speak  to  him.  His  brother 
awoke  all  his  wives,  and  sent  them  out  of  the  lodge, 
telling  them  not  to  come  back  until  he  called  them. 
Then  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  said  to  his  brother,  "  Now,  my 
brother,  you  people  have  seen  whether  what  I  say  to 
you  is  true  or  not.  You  have  seen  what  has  hap 
pened,  you  can  judge.  Now,  brother,  I  want  you  to 


154  Folk- Tales. 

feel  of  me  all  over;  nobody  else  but  you  to  feel  of  me, 
my  brother."  His  brother  passed  his  hands  all  over 
his  breast  and  arms  and  body  and  legs.  Pa-hu-kd- 
tawa  said,  "  Now  put  your  hands  on  top  of  my  head, 
and  feel  there."  He  did  so,  and  felt  something  soft. 
Pa-hu-kd-tawa  said,  "Do  you  know  what  that  is? 
That  is  the  down  feathers." 

Then  he  told  the  story  of  his  being  killed.  He 
said,  "That  time  after  I  got  killed,  all  kinds  of 
Nahu'rac  took  pity  on  me.  The  flies  and  bugs, 
the  fishes  and  birds,  the  deer  and  the  wolves,  all 
the  animals  took  pity  on  me,  and  helped  me  to 
come  to  life  again.  They  looked  all  over  for  my 
flesh  and  my  bones,  and  brought  them  all  together. 
One  part  of  me,  the  top  part  of  my  skull,  they  could 
not  find.  The  bugs  crept  through  the  ground  look 
ing  for  it,  the  fishes  swam  through  the  water  and 
sought  it,  the  flies  buzzed  about  over  the  sand,  and 
the  deer  and  wolves  hunted  for  it  on  the  prairie,  but 
they  could  not  find  this  piece  anywhere.  Nor  could 
they  find  my  brains.  Perhaps,  when  I  was  killed,  the 
crows  eat  them  out.  When  they  had  gathered  the 
pieces  all  together,  they  laid  each  piece  in  its  own 
place,  so  that  they  had  the  form  of  a  man,  and  in 
place  of  the  top  of  the  skull  and  the  brains  they  put 


Pa-hu-ka'-tawa.  155 

the  down  feathers.  After  they  had  put  all  the  pieces 
together,  they  stood  around  me,  and  prayed,  and 
passed  their  paws  over  me,  and  danced  and  sang, 
and  at  last  I  breathed  a  little.  Then  they  prayed 
again,  and  passed  their  paws  over  me,  and  at  length 
I  breathed  regularly.  Then  I  was  not  dead  any 
more;  I  was  alive  again.  Not  as  a  person  was  I 
alive,  but  as  a  spirit 

"I  am  in  every  thing;  in  the  wind,  in  the  rain,  in 
the  grass.  I  go  over  the  whole  world.  I  am  the 
wind,  and  I  go  everywhere  all  over  the  world.  There 
is  no  one  above  me  but  Ti-ra'-wa.  He  is  the  only 
one  I  am  under.  He  is  the  ruler  of  all.  Whenever 
any  human  being  on  this  earth,  man  woman  or  child, 
says  anything  about  me,  I  hear  it  surely.  You  must 
tell  all  this  to  every  one,  and  say  to  them  that  if  they 
are  sick  or  unfortunate,  let  them  pray  to  me,  and  I 
will  heal  or  help  them. 

"Now  you  know  that  I  am  living,  but  I  am  a 
spirit;  and  whenever  you  people  have  a  fight  with 
the  Sioux,  if  you  pray  to  me,  and  call  me  by  name, 
and  ask  to  be  brave,  and  to  be  helped,  I  will  hear 
you.  If  you  wish  to  be  brave,  or  if  you  wish  not  to 
be  hurt  in  battle,  even  though  the  enemy  be  right 
upon  you,  and  just  striking  or  shooting  at  you,  I  will 


156  Folk- Tales. 

protect  you.  I  shall  live  forever,  as  long  as  this 
world  exists.  So  long  as  I  come  to  you,  I  want  you 
people  to  conquer  the  Sioux  all  you  can,  on  account 
of  what  they  did  to  me  when  they  killed  me  and  cut 
me  in  pieces.  So  long  as  the  Sioux  come  down  to 
attack  you,  I  want  you  to  conquer  them  every  time. 

"  Now,  brother,  when  I  come  down  to  see  you,  you 
must  not  get  tired  of  me.  I  want  to  come  down 
often  to  see  you,  and  talk  to  you,  to  tell  you  what  is 
going  to  happen,  and  to  warn  you  whenever  the 
Sioux  are  coming  down  to  attack  the  Skidi.  I  go 
about  everywhere,  to  the  camps  of  the  different 
bands  of  Sioux,  and  I  know  what  the  chiefs  are  say 
ing  in  council;  when  they  are  talking  of  sending  out 
war  parties  against  you.  If  I  come  down  to  you 
often,  do  not  get  tired  of  seeing  me." 

He  knew  himself  that  his  brother  would  some  time 
refuse  to  listen  to  him,  but  his  brother  did  not  know 
it,  and  he  said,  "I  will  never  get  tired  of  you." 

Some  time  after  this,  the  Sioux  came  down  again 
to  attack  the  Skidi  village.  Two  days  before  they 
came,  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  came  down  to  his  brother  and 
warned  him,  saying,  "A  big  war  party  of  Sioux  will 
be  here  day  after  to-morrow  to  fight  with  you.  But 
I  am  going  to  attend  to  them.  On  the  morning  of 


Pa-hu~ka!-tawa.  157 

the  second  day  from  this,  tell  all  the  people  to  be 
ready,  and  to  have  their  horses  tied  up  close  to  the 
lodges,  where  they  can  get  at  them.  Then,  if  you 
look  up  in  the  sky,  you  will  see  thick  black  clouds, 
as  if  you  were  going  to  have  a  great  rain.  When  you 
begin  fighting,  do  not  be  afraid  of  the  enemy.  Do 
not  be  afraid  of  them;  go  right  up  to  them;  they 
will  not  be  able  to  shoot,  their  bowstrings  will  be 
wet,  and  the  sinews  will  stretch  and  slip  off  the  ends 
of  the  bows.  They  will  not  be  able  to  hurt  you." 

On  the  morning  that  he  had  said,  the  Sioux  came 
down,  and  the  people  went  out  to  meet  them.  The 
sky  above  was  black  with  clouds.  When  they  began 
fighting,  a  heavy  rain  commenced  to  fall,  but  it  did 
not  rain  everywhere,  but  only  just  where  the  Sioux 
were.  The  bowstrings  of  the  Sioux  got  wet,  so  that 
they  could  not  use  them,  for  the  sinews  stretched,  so 
that  when  they  bent  their  bows  the  strings  slipped 
off  the  ends  of  the  bows,  and  there  was  no  force  to 
their  arrows.  The  Skidi  overcame  the  Sioux  and 
drove  them,  and  the  Sioux  ran  far.  The  rain  fol 
lowed  the  Sioux,  and  rained  over  them,  but  nowhere 
else,  and  the  Sioux  fled,  and  the  Skidi  won  a  great 
victory. 

Soon  after  this,  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  came  down  and 


158  Folk- Tales. 

visited  his  brother,  and  said  to  him,  "My  brother, 
whenever  you  have  a  feast  or  a  council  of  old  men, 
you  must  smoke  to  me  and  say,  '  Father,  we  want 
you  to  help  us.'  Then  I  will  hear  you.  At  the  same 
time  you  must  pray  to  Ti-ra'-wa.  There  is  one 
above  us  who  is  the  ruler  of  all.  I  do  not  wish  to 
be  talked  about  commonly  or  by  common  men,  but 
that  whenever  you  have  a  feast  you  should  call  in 
the  young  men  and  tell  them  about  me  and  let  them 
hear."  He  did  not  want  his  name  used  irreverently, 
nor  wish  that  the  story  of  what  he  had  suffered  and 
done  should  be  told  commonly  or  for  mere  amuse 
ment.  It  is  sacred  and  should  be  told  only  at 
solemn  times. 

Some  time  after  this  talk  with  his  brother,  he  came 
down  again  to  see  him.  Another  man  was  living  in 
his  brother's  lodge,  and  on  this  night  his  brother  was 
not  there,  he  was  sleeping  somewhere  else.  Pa-hu- 
ka'-tawa  asked  this  man  where  his  brother  was.  He 
answered,  "  He  is  not  here  to-night,  he  is  sleeping 
somewhere  else."  Pa-hit-ka'-tawa  said,  "Go  over 
and  tell  him  that  I  am  here,  and  that  I  want  to  see 
him."  The  man  went  and  gave  the  message  to  the 
brother,  who  said,  "I  do  not  want  to  go.  Tell  him 
I  am  asleep,"  The  man  went  back  and  told  Pa-hu- 


Pa-hu-kd-taiua.  159 

kd-tawa  that  his  brother  could  not  come.  He  said, 
"He  is  asleep."  Pa-hu-kd-tavja  sent  him  back 
again,  to  get  the  brother.  The  man  went,  and  said 
to  the  brother,  "  He  wants  to  see  you  very  much." 
The  brother  said,  "Tell  him  I  can't  come;  I  want  to 
sleep  to-night."  The  man  returned  and  said,  "He 
does  not  want  to  come,  he  is  sleeping."  He  was 
sent  back  for  the  brother  the  third  time,  to  tell  the 
brother  he  must  come,  he  was  wanted.  He  sent 
word  back  that  he  could  not,  he  was  too  sleepy. 
Then  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  said,  "Very  well.  Go  back 
and  tell  him  to  sleep  now,  to  sleep  all  he  wants.  I 
told  him  before  that  he  would  get  tired  of  me  at  last. 
Let  him  sleep  all  he  wants,  I  will  come  to  him  no 
more.  I  can  go  to  some  other  tribe.  This  is  the 
last  time  I  will  come.  Tell  him  to  sleep.  I  will 
trouble  him  no  more.  I  am  going  off,  but  tell  the 
people  not  to  forget  me;  to  talk  of  me  sometimes, 
and  to  pray  to  me,  and  I  will  help  them  and  care  for 
the  tribe." 

So  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  went  away  to  the  Rees,  and  the 
people  knew  him  no  more;  after  that  he  never  came 
down  to  see  them.  When  the  people  learned  this, 
they  felt  very  badly,  and  were  angry  at  his  brother 
who  would  not  see  him.  There  was  living  not  long 


i6o 


Folk- Tales. 


ago,  among  the  Rees,  an  old  woman,  who,  when  she 
was  a  girl,  had  seen  and  talked  to  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa. 

NOTE. — This  is  a  Skidi  story.  The  Rees  have  a 
story  of  what  Pa-hu-ka'-tawa  did  after  he  had  come 
to  them.  The  Lower  Village  tribes  have  a  story  of  a 
hero  of  this  same  name,  which  is  quite  different  from 
that  of  the  Skidi. 


LONE    CHIEF — SKIDI. 


THE  BOY  WHO  WAS  SACRIFICED. 

THERE  was  a  time,  far  back,  when  some  people 
thought  that  it  was  good  to  sacrifice  to  Tt-ra'- 
wa  whatever  they  had  that  was  most  precious  to 
them.  The  sacrifice  of  the  animal,  the  burnt  offer 
ing,  has  always  been  made  by  all  the  Pawnees;  that 
is  one  of  the  things  handed  down  from  the  ruler.  It 
is  very  old.  The  Skidi  have  always  performed  the 
sacrifice  of  the  captive.  Each  one  of  these  is  sacred 
and  solemn,  but  it  is  not  like  giving  up  something 
that  belongs  to  you,  and  that  you  love.  It  is  a 
sacrifice,  but  it  does  not  cost  much. 

Many  years  ago,  in  the  Skidi  village  on  the  Loup, 
there  lived  a  man,  who  believed  that  if  he  sacrificed 
his  son  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  it  would  be  a  blessing  to  him. 
He  thought  that  if  he  did  this  thing,  perhaps  Ti-ra'- 
wa  would  speak  to  him  face  to  face,  and  that  he 
could  talk  to  him  just  as  two  people  would  talk  to 


162  Folk- Tales. 

one  another,  and  that  in  this  way  he  would  learn 
many  things  that  other  people  did  not  understand. 
His  child  was  a  nice  boy  about  ten  years  old,  strong, 
growing  up  well,  and  the  man  loved  him.  It  made 
him  feel  badly  to  think  of  killing  him.  He  medi 
tated  long  about  this,  but  the  more  he  thought  about 
it,  the  more  he  believed  that  this  sacrifice  would 
please  Ti-ra'-wa.  There  were  many  things  that  he 
wanted  to  understand,  and  to  do;  and  he  thought  if 
he  gave  up  his  son,  these  good  things  would  come  to 
him.  So  he  resolved  to  make  the  sacrifice. 

One  morning  he  started  out  from  the  village,  and 
took  the  boy  with  him.  They  went  over  to  the 
Platte.  When  they  got  to  the  river,  as  they  were 
walking  along,  the  man  took  his  knife  from  its  sheath, 
and  caught  the  boy  by  the  shoulder,  and  stabbed 
him  quickly,  and  cut  him  open.  When  the  boy  was 
dead,  he  threw  the  body  into  the  river,  and  then  went 
back  to  the  village.  When  he  got  there,  he  went  into 
his  lodge  and  sat  down.  After  a  time  he  said  to  his 
wife,  "Where  is  the  boy?"  The  woman  said,  "He 
went  out  with  you,  when  you  went  over  to  see  the 
horses."  The  man  answered,  "No;  I  went  out  to 
where  the  horses  are  feeding,  and  looked  at  them, 
but  he  did  not  go  with  me." 


The  Boy  who  was  Sacrificed.  163 

The  man  went  out,  and  looked  for  the  boy  all 
through  the  village,  but  he  could  not  find  him.  At 
night  when  the  boy  did  not  come  home,  they  began 
to  get  frightened,  and  for  two  days  they  hunted  for 
the  boy,  and  at  last  they  got  the  old  crier  to  call  out 
for  him  from  the  top  of  the  lodge,  and  ask  if  anyone 
had  seen  him,  but  none  of  the  people  knew  what  had 
become  of  the  boy.  Now  the  mother  was  mourning, 
and  the  father  pretended  to  feel  very  badly.  They 
could  not  find  the  boy;  and  soon  after  this  the  tribe 
started  on  the  summer  hunt,  and  the  father  and 
mother  went  with  them.  The  village  made  a  good 
hunt,  killing  plenty  of  buffalo,  and  made  much  dried 
meat. 

After  the  boy  had  been  thrown  into  the  river,  he 
floated  down  with  the  current,  sometimes  turning 
over  and  over  in  the  swift  water,  and  sometimes 
grounding  for  a  little  while  on  a  sand  bar,  and  then 
being  floated  off  again,  and  being  carried  further 
down.  At  length  he  came  near  to  the  place  where 
the  whirlpool  is,  under  the  bluff  at  Pa-Mk',  where  is 
the  lodge  of  the  Nahu'rac.  There  were  two  buz 
zards  sitting  on  the  bluff,  just  above  this  place,  and 
as  they  sat  there,  one  of  them  stretched  out  his  neck 
and  looked  up  the  river,  and  after  he  had  looked,  he 


1 64  Polk- Tales. 

said  to  the  other,  "I  see  a  body.'*  Then  both  thd 
buzzards  flew  down  to  where  the  boy  was  floating  in 
the  water,  and  got  down  under  him,  and  raised  him 
on  their  backs,  and  lifted  him  up  out  of  the  water, 
and  flew  up  to  the  bluff,  carrying  the  boy  on  their 
backs,  and  placed  him  on  the  ground  on  top  of  the 
bluff  over  the  big  cave,  which  is  the  home  of  the 
Nahu'rac.  In  this  lodge  were  all  kinds  of  animals, 
and  all  kinds  of  birds.  There  were  bears,  and  moun 
tain  lions,  and  buffalo,  and  elk,  and  beaver,  and 
otter,  and  deer;  all  kinds  of  animals,  great  and  small, 
and  all  kinds  of  birds. 

There  is  a  little  bird,  smaller  than  a  pigeon.  Its 
back  is  blue,  and  its  breast  white,  and  its  head  is 
spotted.  It  flies  swiftly  over  the  water,  and  when  it 
sees  a  fish,  it  dives  down  into  the  water  to  catch  it. 
This  bird  is  a  servant  or  a  messenger  for  the  Nahu'rac. 
Such  a  bird  came  flying  by  just  as  the  buzzards  put 
the  body  on  the  ground,  and  he  stopped  and  looked 
at  it.  When  he  saw  how  it  was — for  he  knew  all 
that  had  happened — he  flew  down  into  the  lodge 
and  told  the  Nahu'rac  about  the  boy.  The  bird 
said,  "There  is  a  boy  up  here  on  the  hill.  He  is 
dead,  and  he  is  poor,  and  I  want  to  have  him 
brought  to  life  again."  Then  he  told  the  Nahu'rac 


The  Boy  who  was  Sacrificed.  165 

all  the  things  that  had  happened.  When  the  mes 
senger  bird  had  done  speaking,  the  Nahu'rac  earn 
estly  counselled  together  for  a  long  time  to  de 
cide  what  should  be  done,  and  each  one  made  a 
speech,  giving  his  opinion  about  the  matter,  but 
they  could  not  make  up  their  minds  what  ought  to 
be  done. 

The  little  bird  was  coaxing  the  Nahu'rac ,  and  say 
ing,  "Come,  now,  we  want  to  save  his  life."  But  the 
Nahu'rac  could  not  decide.  At  last  the  chief  of  the 
Nahu'rac  said,  "No,  messenger,  we  cannot  decide 
this  here.  You  will  have  to  go  to  the  other  council 
lodges,  and  see  what  they  say  about  it."  The  bird 
said,  "I  am  going,"  and  flew  swiftly  out  of  the  lodge 
and  up  the  river,  till  he  came  to  the  Nahu'rac  lodge 
near  the  Lone  Tree.  When  he  got  there,  he  told  them 
all  about  the  boy,  and  said  that  the  council  at 
Pa-huk'  could  not  decide  what  should  be  done.  The 
Nahu'rac  here  talked,  and  at  last  they  said,  "We 
cannot  decide.  The  council  at  Pa-huk'  must  decide." 
Then  the  bird  went  to  the  lodge  on  the  Loup,  and 
the  Nahu'rac  there  said  that  they  could  not  decide 
Then  he  went  to  Kitz-a-witz-uk,  and  to  Pa-hur'\  and 
at  each  place  the  Nahu'rac  considered  and  talked 
about  it,  and  then  said,  "  We  cannot  decide  what 


1 66  Folk- Tales. 

shall  be  done.  The  council  at  Pa-hutt  must  decide 
for  themselves." 

At  last,  after  he  had  visited  all  the  council  lodges 
of  the  Nahu'raC)  the  bird  flew  swiftly  back  to  the 
lodge  at  Pa-kuk ',  and  told  them  there  what  the 
animals  at  the  other  lodges  had  said.  In  the  council 
of  the  Nahu'rac  at  Pa-huk ',  there  were  four  chiefs, 
who  sat  there  as  judges  to  determine  such  matters 
as  this,  after  they  had  all  been  talked  over,  and  to 
decide  what  should  be  done.  When  the  messenger 
bird  came  back,  and  told  the  Nahu'rac  what  the 
other  councils  had  said,  these  judges  considered  for 
a  time,  and  then  spoke  together,  and  at  length  the 
chief  of  the  judges  said  to  the  bird,  "Now,  mes 
senger,  we  have  concluded  that  we  will  not  decide 
this  question  ourselves.  You  decide  it,  and  say  what 
shall  be  done." 

The  messenger  was  not  long  in  deciding.  He  did 
not  hesitate.  He  said,  "I  want  this  boy  brought 
back  to  life."  Then  all  the  Nahu'rac  stood  up,  and 
went  to  where  the  boy  lay,  and  stood  around  him 
and  prayed,  and  at  last  the  boy  breathed  once,  and 
then  after  a  little  while  he  breathed  again,  and  at 
last  he  came  to  life  and  sat  up.  He  looked  about 
and  saw  all  these  animals  standing  around  him,  and 


The  Boy  who  was  Sacrificed.  167 

he  wondered.  He  said  to  himself,  "Why,  my  father 
stabbed  me,  and  killed  me,  and  now  here  I  am 
among  this  great  crowd  of  animals.  What  does  this 
mean  ?"  He  was  surprised. 

The  Nahu'rac  all  went  back  into  the  lodge,  and 
took  the  boy  with  them.  When  all  were  seated  in 
the  lodge,  the  four  judges  talked  to  each  other,  and 
the  chief  one  stood  up,  and  said,  "Now,  my  people, 
we  have  brought  this  boy  back  to  life,  but  he  is  poor, 
and  we  must  do  something  for  him.  Let  us  teach 
him  all  we  know,  and  make  him  one  of  us."  Then 
the  Nahu'rac  all  made  a  noise.  They  were  glad. 
Then  they  began  to  sing  and  they  danced.  They 
taught  the  boy  all  their  secrets,  and  all  their  ways. 
They  taught  him  how  to  cut  a  man  open  and  cure 
him  again,  and  how  to  shoot  an  arrow  through  a  man 
and  then  cure  him,  and  how  to  cut  a  man's  tongue 
out  and  then  to  put  it  back,  and  how  to  make  well  a 
broken  leg,  and  many  other  things.  After  they  had 
done  all  these  things,  they  said  to  the  boy,  "  Now  we 
have  brought  you  back  to  life,  and  have  taught  you 
all  these  things,  so  that  you  are  one  of  us.  Now  you 
must  stop  with  us  one  season.  Your  people  have 
gone  off  on  the  summer  hunt.  You  must  stay  with 
us  until  the  autumn.  Then  you  can  go  back  to  your 


i68  Folk-Tales. 

people."  So  the  boy  stayed  with  the  Nahu'rac  in 
their  lodge. 

At  length  the  Skidi  had  returned  from  the  hunt 
with  plenty  of  dried  meat.  Soon  after  this,  the  Na- 
hu'rac  said  one  day  to  the  boy,  "Your  people  have 
got  back  from  the  hunt.  Now  you  can  go  back  to 
the  village.  Go  back  and  get  a  lot  of  nice  dried 
meat,  and  bring  it  back  to  us  here,  and  we  will  have 
a  feast." 

The  boy  went  home  to  the  village.  He  got  there 
in  the  night,  and  went  to  his  father's  lodge,  and  went 
in.  There  was  a  little  fire  burning  in  the  lodge.  It 
was  nearly  out,  and  gave  only  a  little  light,  but  he 
knew  the  place  where  his  mother  slept.  He  went  up 
to  her,  and  put  out  his  hand  and  touched  her,  and 
pushed  her  a  little.  She  awoke,  and  sat  up  and 
looked  at  him,  and  he  said,  "I've  come  back."  When 
she  saw  him,  and  heard  him  speak,  she  was  very 
much  surprised,  and  her  heart  was  glad  to  see  her 
boy  again.  She  called  to  his  father,  and  he  woke 
up.  When  he  saw  the  boy  he  was  afraid,  for  he 
thought  it  was  a  ghost.  The  boy  told  them  nothing 
of  what  had  happened,  or  where  he  had  been.  He 
just  said,  "I  have  come  back  again." 

In  the  morning  all  the  people  were  surprised  to 


The  Boy  who  was  Sacrificed.  169 

hear  that  he  had  come  back,  and  to  see  him,  and 
they  stood  around  looking  at  him,  and  asking  him 
questions,  but  he  said  nothing.  The  next  day  the 
people  still  questioned  him,  and  at  last  the  boy  said, 
"I  have  been  all  summer  with  friends,  with  people 
who  have  been  good  to  me.  I  should  like  to  take 
them  a  present  of  some  nice  dried  meat,  so  that  we 
can  have  a  feast."  The  people  said  that  this  was 
good.  They  picked  out  four  strong  horses,  and 
loaded  them  with  dried  meat,  the  nicest  pieces.  The 
boy's  father  gave  some  of  it,  and  all  the  other  people 
brought  pieces  and  put  them  on  the  horses,  until 
they  had  big  loads.  They  sent  two  young  men  with 
the  boy,  to  help  him  load  and  drive  the  horses,  and 
they  started  to  go  to  the  Nahu'rac  lodge  at  Pa-huk '. 
When  they  had  come  pretty  near  the  place,  the 
boy  sent  the  young  men  back  to  the  village,  and  he 
went  on  alone,  driving  the  pack-horses  before  him. 
When  he  reached  the  home  of  the  Nahu'rac,  he  un 
loaded  the  horses,  and  turned  them  loose,  and  then 
went  into  the  lodge.  When  he  went  in,  and  when 
the  Nahu'rac  saw  him,  they  all  made  a  hissing 
noise.  They  were  glad  to  see  him.  The  boy  brought 
into  the  lodge  all  the  dried  meat,  and  they  had  a 
great  feast.  After  the  feast  they  had  a  doctors' 


170  Folk-Tales. 

dance,  and  the  boy  was  made  a  doctor,  and  again 
was  taught  all  that  the  Nahu'rac  knew.  After  that 
he  could  do  many  wonderful  things.  He  could 
sometimes  go  to  a  man  that  had  been  dead  for  a 
day,  and  then  bring  him  back  to  life. 

No  one  ever  knew  what  the  father  had  done,  for 
the  boy  never  told  any  one.  He  knew  that  he  could 
never  have  learned  all  these  wonderful  things  unless 
his  father  had  sacrificed  him. 


FLESHERS. 


THE   SNAKE    BROTHER. 

ONE  time,  long  ago,  a  big  party  of  Pawnees  went 
on  the  warpath  down  to  the  south.  They  could 
find  no  enemies  anywhere,  and  they  went  a  long  way 
south.  In  this  party  were  two  brothers,  poor  boys, 
and  one  day  as  they  were  traveling  along,  apart  from 
the  others,  in  a  piece  of  woods  where  it  was  very 
thick,  they  got  lost.  When  they  found  that  they  were 
lost,  they  tried  to  go  back  to  the  camp,  but  they 
could  not  find  the  others,  and  at  last  gave  up  look 
ing  for  them  and  started  to  go  back  north  to  their 
home.  They  had  no  food  with  them,  and  were  look 
ing  about  for  something  to  kill,  so  that  they  might 
eat.  As  they  were  going  along,  they  came  upon  a 
dead  buffalo  that  had  been  killed  some  time,  and 
there  was  nothing  of  it  left  but  the  bones,  so  they 
took  some  of  the  marrow  bones,  and  carried  them 
along  with  them,  until  they  made  a  camp. 


172  Folk- Tales. 

Not  far  beyond  here  they  stopped  to  rest.  There 
was  a  tree  growing  near  where  they  stopped,  and  as 
they  looked  up  into  it,  they  saw  a  squirrel  run  up  the 
tree.  One  of  the  brothers  caught  up  his  bow  and 
arrows,  and  the  other  said,  "Oh,  kill  him,  kill  him, 
quick."  The  boy  shot  and  killed  it,  and  they 
skinned  it,  and  roasted  it  over  the  fire.  While  they 
were  cooking  it  the  elder  brother  said,  "I  wonder  if 
it  is  good  to  eat  the  marrow  and  the  squirrel 
together."  The  younger  said,  "No,  it  is  not  good  to 
do  so.  This  is  not  real  meat.*  "  The  elder  thought 
the  two  kinds  of  food  would  be  good  together,  and 
they  disputed  about  this  for  some  time.  The  elder 
brother  kept  coaxing  the  younger  to  eat  the  squirrel 
and  the  marrow  together,  but  the  younger  said,  "Oh, 
brother,  I  do  not  like  to  do  this.  To  me  it  does  not 
seem  good.  But  if  you  wish  to  do  it,  why  don't 
you?"  The  elder  said,  "I  think  I  will  do  so;"  and 
he  did  so,  taking  a  bite  of  squirrel,  and  then  a  bite  of 
marrow.  He  said,  "It  is  nice,  you  had  better  take 
some."  But  the  younger  brother  would  not.  He 
ate  only  the  marrow.  After  they  had  eaten  they  did 
not  go  on  further,  but  slept  there. 

About  the  middle  of  the  night,  the  elder  brother 

*  Like  buffalo  meat,  or  elk  or  deer. 


The  Snake  Brother.  173 

felt  a  noise  in  his  feet,  and  he  sat  up  and  felt  of 
his  legs  and  feet,  and  he  found  that  his  feet  were 
stuck  together,  and  were  beginning  to  get  round, 
like  a  snake,  and  had  a  rattle  on  the  end  of  them, 
and  that  his  legs  were  round  and  like  the  tail  of  a 
great  big  rattlesnake.  He  reached  over,  and  put  his 
hands  on  his  brother,  and  shook  him,  and  said  to 
him,  "Get  up.  There  is  something  the  matter  with 
me."  The  younger  brother  woke  up,  and  felt  of  his 
brother,  and  found  how  it  was;  as  if  he  was  chang 
ing  into  a  snake,  beginning  at  his  feet.  When  he 
saw  this  he  felt  very  badly.  Then  the  older  brother 
began  to  talk  to  the  younger,  and  to  give  him  good 
advice,  for  he  felt  very  sad. 

He  said,  "  Now  I  am  going  to  die,  and  leave  my 
young  brother  here  alone  on  this  prairie.  He  is  so 
young,  he  will  not  be  able  to  find  his  way  home,  and 
he  must  die,  too.  Surely  this  has  happened  because 
I  ate  the  marrow  and  the  squirrel  together."  While  he 
was  talking,  the  change  had  moved  up  to  his  waist. 

After  a  little  while  he  got  more  hopeful,  and  he 
said,  "  Now,  brother,  I  know  that  you  will  get  home 
safely.  I  will  protect  you.  I  know  that  I  am  going 
to  be  a  snake,  and  I  shall  stay  right  here.  You  see 
that  hole,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  hole  in  the  bank. 


174  Folk- Tales. 

"When  I  have  changed  into  a  snake,  take  me  in  your 
arms,  and  carry  me  over  to  that  hole.  I  am  going  to 
stay  there  forever.  That  will  be  my  home,  for  that 
is  the  house  of  the  snakes.  When  you  go  back 
home,  you  must  tell  our  father  and  mother  how  it 
was,  and  whenever  you  want  to  go  on  the  warpath, 
take  a  big  party  and  come  down  this  way,  and  come 
right  here,  to  this  very  place,  and  you  will  see  me, 
for  I  shall  be  here.  Now,  brother,  when  you  go  back 
home,  some  time  after  you  have  reached  home,  I 
want  you  to  come  back  all  alone;  come  right  here. 
You  know  what  I  told  you;  do  not  be  afraid  of  me. 
I  believe  this  was  to  happen  to  me,  and  I  could  not 
help  it.  After  you  have  once  come  all  alone,  then 
the  second  time  you  may  bring  some  others  with 
you,  but  the  first  time  come  alone."  So  he  talked 
to  his  brother,  and  as  he  spoke  the  change  kept 
going  on.  While  it  was  moving  up  his  body,  until  it 
got  to  his  head,  he  was  still  like  a  man  in  his  mind, 
but  all  his  body  was  like  a  great  big  snake.  Then 
he  spoke  to  his  brother,  and  said,  "Now,  brother, 
cover  up  my  head  with  the  robe,  and  after  a  little 
while  take  it  off  again."  The  younger  brother  did 
as  he  was  told,  and  when,  after  a  while,  he  took  the 
robe  off,  there  he  saw  an  immense  snake's  head  as 


The  Snake  Brother.  175 

broad  as  his  two  hands.  The  elder  brother  had 
completely  changed  into  a  snake. 

The  young  man  took  the  snake  in  his  arms,  and 
carried  him  over  to  the  hole,  and  put  him  on  the 
ground  by  it.  He  felt  very  sad  to  go  away  and  leave 
his  brother  here.  Before  he  started,  he  spoke  good 
words  to  the  snake,  and  said,  "  Now,  brother,  I  am 
going  home,  and  I  ask  you  to  take  pity  on  me,  and 
to  protect  me.  I  do  not  know  the  country  I  am 
going  through,  and  you  must  take  care  of  me.  Do 
not  forget  the  promises  you  have  made  me."  After 
he  had  spoken  he  did  not  wait  to  see  the  snake  go 
into  the  hole,  but  started  on  his  journey,  and  went 
off  toward  his  home. 

When  he  reached  the  village,  he  told  all  these 
things  to  his  father  and  his  mother.  He  said  to  all 
his  relations,  "Do  not  mourn  for  him.  He  is  alive 
and  he  is  well.  The  only  trouble  is,  that  he  is  in  the 
shape  of  a  snake."  After  he  had  been  home  ten 
days,  he  told  his  mother  to  make  for  him  five  pairs 
of  moccasins,  that  he  was  going  on  the  warpath  for 
himself.  His  mother  did  so,  and  he  stuffed  them 
full  of  parched  corn,  and  took  a  little  sack  of 
pounded  buffalo  meat  on  his  back,  and  started  back 
to  see  his  brother. 


1 76  Folk- Tales. 

It  took  him  seven  days  fast  traveling  to  get  to 
where  he  left  the  snake.  When  he  had  come  near 
the  place,  he  saw  there  the  hole  where  he  had  left 
his  brother.  He  went  up  close  to  the  hole  and  began 
to  speak.  He  said,  "  Brother,  I  am  here.  I  have 
come  on  the  warpath,  and  I  am  here  to  see  you. 
You  told  me  to  come,  and  to  come  alone.  I  have 
done  what  you  bade  me,  and  am  here.  Now,  brother, 
remember  to  keep  your  promises.  I  want  to  see  you 
this  afternoon." 

He  stood  there  a  little  while,  and  then  there  began 
in  the  hole  a  rattling  and  a  rustling  and  scraping 
noise,  and  presently  dust  began  to  roll  out,  and  then 
out  of  the  hole  came  this  great  big  snake,  which  was 
his  brother.  First  came  out  this  great  snake,  and 
after  him  many  other  large  ones  came  out,  and  crept 
all  about,  but  the  great  snake,  his  brother,  lay  just 
outside  the  hole.  The  boy  went  up  to  the  big  snake 
and  took  it  in  his  a-rms,  and  hugged  it,  and  spoke  to 
it,  and  the  snake  put  out  its  tongue,  as  if  it  were  kiss 
ing  him.  Then  the  boy  put  it  down  on  the  ground, 
and  all  the  other  snakes  came  back,  and  went  in  the 
hole,  and  after  them  all,  last,  the  big  snake  went  in 
the  hole. 

Then  the  boy  left  this  place,  and  went  on  a  little 


The  Snake  Brother.  177 

further,  and  about  sunset  he  came  to  a  little  creek, 
and  here  he  lay  down  and  slept.  In  the  night  he 
dreamed  of  his  brother,  who  spoke  to  him  and  said, 
"  Now,  brother,  I  am  glad  that  you  have  come  down 
to  see  me,  as  I  told  you  to.  And  now  I  say  to  you, 
be  brave.  Have  courage.  To-morrow  morning 
when  you  awake,  dress  yourself  up  as  if  you  were 
going  to  fight.  Paint  your  face,  put  feathers  in  your 
head,  make  yourself  ready  to  fight." 

The  next  morning  the  boy  woke  up,  and  as  the 
snake  had  told  him  in  the  dream,  so  he  did.  He 
painted  his  face  and  tied  feathers  in  his  head,  and 
dressed  himself  up  for  the  fight.  Then  he  started 
on.  Pretty  soon  he  came  to  a  little  hill,  and  as  he 
looked  over  it,  he  saw  people  coming  toward  him; 
people  and  many  horses.  He  thought  they  were 
Sioux,  and  when  he  saw  them,  he  went  back  a  little, 
to  find  a  place  where  he  could  hide.  He  went  back 
to  the  little  creek  where  he  had  slept,  and  there  he 
sat  down  in  the  brush.  When  he  had  hidden  him 
self  in  the  brush,  he  waited;  and  the  people  came 
straight  toward  where  he  had  hidden  himself,  and 
camped  just  below  where  he  was.  After  a  little 
while  he  raised  himself  up  and  looked  at  them,  and 
saw  only  two  persons,  and  presently  he  saw  that  one 


178  Folk- Tales, 

of  them  was  a  woman.  He  watched  for  a  long  time, 
looking  about  to  see  if  there  were  any  more,  but  he 
could  see  only  these  two.  Then  he  considered  what 
he  should  do.  While  he  was  thinking,  it  came  to 
him  what  the  snake  brother  had  said  to  him  in  the 
night,  and  then  he  knew  what  to  do. 

He  crept  slowly  along  through  the  brush  toward 
their  camp,  and  when  he  got  close  to  them,  about 
twenty  yards  distant,  he  raised  up  his  head  and 
looked.  He  saw  the  woman  cooking,  and  there 
were  hanging  on  a  little  tree  the  man's  bow  and 
arrows  and  shield  and  spear,  but  the  man  he  could 
not  see.  He  was  lying  down  asleep  somewhere  near 
by.  The  boy  waited  and  watched.  He  was  excited, 
and  his  heart  was  pounding  against  his  ribs.  After 
a  little  while,  the  woman  left  the  fire  and  walked 
away  toward  the  horses.  Perhaps  her  husband  had 
said  to  her,  "  The  horses  are  going  off,  you  had  bet 
ter  go  and  turn  them  back."  When  she  went  toward 
the  horses,  the  boy  was  going  to  run  up  to  the  man 
and  kill  him,  but  before  doing  so  he  changed  his 
mind;  for  he  thought,  "If  I  kill  him,  perhaps  the 
woman  will  get  on  a  horse,  and  ride  away,  driving 
the  other  horses  with  her."  So  he  waited  until  the 
woman  had  come  back.  When  she  had  returned  to 


The  Snake  Brother.  179 

the  fire,  he  ran  up  toward  her,  and  she  heard  him 
coming,  and  ran  to  wake  her  husband;  but  just  as 
she  got  to  him,  the  boy  was  by  her  side.  He  shot 
two  arrows  into  the  man  and  killed  him  and  counted 
coup  on  him,  and  captured  the  woman.  He  took  the 
whole  scalp  of  his  enemy's  head. 

Then  he  took  the  woman  and  went  down  to  where 
the  horses  were,  and  they  got  on  two  of  them,  and 
rode  back  to  where  his  brother,  the  snake,  lived, 
driving  the  horses  before  them.  Just  before  they 
got  to  the  hole,  the  boy  took  his  lariat  and  caught  a 
nice  spotted  horse  and -a  mule,  and  tied  them  up  to 
the  tree,  and  called  up  the  woman,  and  tied  her  up 
against  the  tree  as  tight  as  he  could  tie  her.  When 
he  had  done  this,  he  went  up  to  the  hole  and  began 
to  talk.  He  said,  "Oh,  my  brother,  I  see  now  that 
what  you  have  promised  me  comes  true.  I  did  what 
you  told  me.  Now  here  are  these  two  animals  and 
the  woman;  I  give  them  to  you  for  being  good  to 
me.  They  are  yours.  I  am  glad  for  what  you  have 
done  for  me  this  day."  When  he  had  finished  say 
ing  this  he  spoke  again,  saying,  "  Now,  brother,  I 
want  to  see  you  once  more.  I  am  going  off,  and  I 
want  to  see  you  before  I  go."  After  a  little  while 
he  heard  again  the  rattling  sound  in  the  hole,  and 


i8o  Folk-  Tales. 

saw  the  dust  coming  out  of  it,  and  then  his  brother 
came  out  of  the  hole,  and  then  afterward  the  smaller 
snakes;  and  these  all  went  down  to  the  tree  and 
climbed  up  into  it.  The  tree  was  thick  with  them. 
Then  the  boy  did  as  he  had  done  before.  He  went 
close  to  the  hole,  and  took  his  brother  up  in  his  arms 
and  hugged  him,  and  the  great  snake  thrust  out  his 
tongue,  as  if  kissing  him.  Then  the  boy  spoke  again 
and  said,  "Now,  brother,  I  am  going  away,  and  I 
give  you  these  two  animals  and  this  woman  to  keep. 
They  are  yours."  Then  he  started  for  his  home, 
and  after  a  long  time  he  arrived  at  the  village. 

After  a  time,  he  determined  to  start  off  again  on 
the  warpath,  and  this  time  he  took  a  party  with  him. 
He  had  told  the  whole  tribe  what  had  happened,  and 
how  his  brother  had  protected  and  helped  him;  and 
he  said  to  those  warriors  who  were  going  with 
him,  "  Let  each  one  of  you  take  a  present  with  you 
for  my  brother;  some  beads  or  eagle  feathers  or 
some  tobacco  as  an  offering,  so  that  he  may  help 
you."  They  started  south  to  go  to  the  place  where 
his  brother  lived.  When  they  got  there,  the  young 
man  said  to  the  others,  "  Now  you  must,  each  one  of 
you,  give  something  to  my  brother.  Call  him  by  his 
kin  name,  and  ask  him  to  help  you,  and  to  make  you 


The  Snake  Brother.  181 

successful;  and  leave  the  things  before  the  hole." 
They  did  as  he  said,  and  when  they  had  made  their 
presents,  they  went  by.  They  saw  nothing,  for  the 
brother  did  not  call  out  the  great  snake. 

Two  or  three  days  after  they  had  passed  the  place, 
they  found  a  camp  of  Sioux,  and  took  a  lot  of  horses 
and  killed  some  of  the  enemy.  Then  they  went 
back,  and  when  they  came  to  the  snake's  home,  they 
took  a  horse  and  led  it  up  near  the  hole  and  killed 
it,  and  gave  it  to  him,  and  left  the  scalps  at  the 
mouth  of  the  hole  as  presents  to  him.  When  they 
reached  the  village,  there  was  great  joy  and  a  good 
time.  They  had  all  kinds  of  dances,  for  they  were 
glad  that  the  war  party  had  killed  some  Sioux. 

After  that  another  war  party  started  out,  and  the 
brother  said  to  them,  "  Go  straight  to  my  brother, 
and  make  him  a  present,  and  ask  him  to  give  you 
good  luck,  and  you  will  be  successful."  And  it 
happened  as  he  had  said. 

The  brother  was  always  fortunate  in  war.  He 
became  a  chief  and  was  very  rich,  having  many 
horses.  Ever  after  that  time,  when  he  took  the  lead 
of  a  war  party,  all  the  poor  men  would  come  and  say, 
"I  want  to  go  with  you."  They  knew  that  his  brother 
was  a  snake,  and  wcrM  give  him  good  luck. 


O'RE-KA-RAHR. 

ALONG  time  ago,  as  the  tribe  were  on  their 
summer  hunt,  a  man  and  his  wife  got  to 
quarreling.  They  had  a  child,  a  boy  about  ten 
months  old.  It  was  while  they  were  traveling  along, 
going  from  one  camp  to  another,  that  they  began  to 
quarrel.  At  length  the  wife  became  very  angry,  and 
threw  the  baby  to  the  man,  saying,  "You  take  that 
baby.  It  belongs  to  you,  for  it  is  a  man  child.  I  am 
not  going  to  nurse  it  for  you  any  longer."  Then 
she  went  away. 

The  man  took  the  child  and  carried  it  along  with 
him.  He  felt  very  badly,  both  on  his  own  account 
and  on  account  of  his  child.  He  was  so  unhappy 
that  he  almost  wanted  to  kill  himself.  He  was  so 
poor-minded  because  it  was  a  disgrace  that  he,  being 
a  man,  should  be  obliged  to  take  care  of  his  child 


O're-ka-rahr.  183 

until  it  was  grown  up,  and  he  had  no  female  rela 
tives  to  whom  he  could  turn  it  over  to  be  reared. 
So  he  was  very  unhappy,  and  determined  to  leave 
the  tribe  and  wander  off  alone,  far  from  his  people. 

He  did  so.  He  carried  the  child  on  his  back,  as  a 
woman  does.  When  it  cried  for  its  mother's  milk, 
he  had  none  to  give  it.  He  could  only  cry  with  it. 
He  hated  to  kill  the  child,  or  to  leave  it  behind  to 
die  on  the  prairie.  He  wandered  off  to  the  south. 
He  traveled  on  for  a  time,  until  he  came  near  to 
where  the  buffalo  were.  By  this  time,  the  child  had 
changed  from  a  very  fat  baby  to  a  very  thin  one, 
because  it  had  not  been  nursed.  When  he  got  to 
the  buffalo,  he  killed  a  cow,  and  took  its  udder,  and 
while  it  was  fresh  he  let  the  child  suck  it,  until  it 
became  sour.  Then  he  killed  another  cow,  and  did 
the  same  thing.  In  every  way  he  did  the  best  he 
could  to  nourish  the  child.  Sometimes  he  would  get 
a  slice  of  meat,  and  half  cook  it,  and  let  the  child 
suck  the  juice.  The  child  began  to  improve,  and  to 
get  a  little  stronger.  In  this  way  he  supported  it 
for  quite  a  long  time,  and  it  did  pretty  well,  and  at 
last  it  got  used  to  this  food,  and  became  strong  and 
well.  By  this  time  he  had  gone  a  long  way. 

At  length  he  found  that  the  child  could  sit  Up 


1 84  Folk- Tales. 

alone.  Then  he  began  to  give  it  all  sorts  of  play 
things,  so  that  it  could  amuse  itself.  First  he  made 
for  it  a  little  bow  and  some  arrows,  and  taught  it 
how  to  use  them.  He  made  other  things  for  the 
child  to  play  with,  and  at  last  it  got  to  be  contented 
playing  alone.  Then  the  father  would  leave  the 
child  for  a  few  minutes,  and  go  off  a  little  way,  per 
haps  to  the  top  of  a  hill  near  by,  to  look  off  over  the 
country,  but  he  would  look  back  at  the  child  every 
few  steps  to  see  that  it  was  all  right.  When  he  would 
come  back  he  would  find  the  child  safe,  playing,  well 
contented.  After  a  while  he  got  so  that  he  would 
leave  it  for  about  an  hour,  and  when  he  came  back, 
find  it  safe  and  contented,  playing.  By  this  time  the 
child  had  begun  to  walk.  Finally  the  father  went 
off  once  for  half  a  day,  and  when  he  came  back,  he 
found  the  child  playing  about  safe.  It  did  not  seem 
to  mind  much  about  the  father  being  absent.  About 
this  time  he  killed  a  buffalo  cow,  and  made  some 
dried  meat,  and  put  it  in  a  certain  place,  and  told 
the  child  when  it  was  hungry  to  go  there  and  get  a 
a  piece. 

He  now  went  off  and  was  gone  a  whole  day,  and 
when  he  came  back  at  night  the  child  was  safe. 
Finally  he  made  his  preparations  and  went  off  to 


O're-ka-rahr.  185 

stay  over  night,  and  be  gone  two  days.  He  did  so, 
and  when  he  came  back,  the  boy  was  asleep.  A 
second  time  he  went  away  and  was  absent  for  two 
days,  going  quite  a  long  distance.  When  he  came 
back  he  found  that  the  child  was  painted  with  white 
clay.  The  father  thought  this  was  strange.  He  said 
to  himself,  "  Something  must  have  come  and  talked 
to  my  child,  and  is  taking  care  of  him  while  I  am 
gone." 

When  he  came  back  the  third  time  after  a  two 
days'  journey,  he  found  that  the  child  had  about  his 
neck  a  string  of  pa' hut*  The  fourth  long  journey 
he  took  lasted  three  days,  and  when  he  returned,  he 
found  his  boy  still  wearing  this  same  string  of  beads, 
and  with  a  feather  tied  in  his  head.  Now  his  father 
knew  that  something  was  looking  after  his  child 
while  he  was  away,  and  when  he  went  off,  he  would 
pray  for  the  child.  He  would  say,  "No1 -a,  whatever 
it  is  that  is  taking  pity  on  my  child,  also  take  pity  on 
me." 

The  child  had  now  grown  so  large  that  it  could 
talk  with  him,  and  one  day  it  said,  "  Father,  you  go 
away,  and  you  be  gone  for  four  days;  I  will  be  all 
right  here.  When  you  come  back  you  will  find  me 
safe." 

*  Wild  currants  strung  like  beads. 


1 86  Folk- Tales. 

The  man  went.  He  started  to  go  way  down  south, 
to  be  gone  for  four  days.  After  he  had  been  gone 
two  days  and  two  nights,  he  saw  a  signal  smoke  and 
went  toward  it.  As  he  raised  up  his  head  and 
peeped  over  a  hill  before  crossing  it,  he  saw,  far  off,  a 
lot  of  people  and  horses  coming  toward  the  river 
which  lay  between  him  and  them.  He  lay  on  the 
hill  a  long  time,  watching  to  see  where  they  would 
camp.  When  they  had  made  camp,  he  went  into  a 
ravine,  and  crept  down  close  to  the  camp,  until  he 
could  see  that  it  was  just  one  lodge,  and  that  about 
it  were  a  whole  herd  of  horses.  He  waited  until 
evening,  and  then  went  over  to  the  lodge.  It  was 
after  dark  when  he  went.  The  lodge  was  all  sur 
rounded  by  horses;  everywhere  nothing  but  horses, 
there  were  so  many.  He  crept  close  to  the  lodge, 
and  looked  in  through  an  opening  by  the  door,  and 
saw  lying  down  opposite  the  door  a  great  big  man, 
and  on  either  side  a  woman;  only  three  persons  in 
all.  As  he  looked  at  these  persons,  he  thought  he 
recognized  one  of  the  women.  He  kept  looking  at 
her,  and  at  last  he  remembered  who  she  was,  and 
that  she  had  been  captured  long  ago  from  the  Paw 
nees.  Her  people  were  still  living.  The  man  was  a 
Comanche. 


O're-ka-rahr.  187 

While  the  Pawnee  was  watching,  the  man  inside 
the  lodge  asked  for  something,  and  the  captive 
woman  stood  up  to  go  out  of  the  lodge,  and  the 
Pawnee  stepped  to  one  side,  out  of  sight.  The 
woman  came  out  into  the  darkness,  and  went  out 
among  the  horses.  The  Pawnee  stepped  up  behind 
her  very  softly,  and  put  his  hand  on  her  shoulder, 
and  said  to  her  in  Pawnee,  "  Friend,  do  you  belong 
to  my  tribe?"  The  woman  started  to  scream,  but 
he  put  his  hand  on  her  mouth,  and  said  to  her,  "  Be 
quiet.  Keep  still.  Do  not  call  out."  She  answered 
him,  "Yes,  I  belong  to  your  tribe."  Then  she  said 
in  a  very  low  voice  that  shook,  for  she  was  afraid, 
"Do  you  belong  to  my  tribe?"  The  man  said, 
"Yes."  Then  he  asked  her,  "Who  is  that  other 
woman  that  I  see  in  the  lodge?"  She  answered 
him,  "  She  also  belongs  to  our  tribe,  and  is  a  pris 
oner."  Then  the  man  said,  "You  just  wait  and  keep 
still.  I  am  going  to  kill  that  man."  The  woman 
said,  "That  is  good.  That  is  good.  This  man  is 
the  biggest  man  of  all  the  Comanches.  He  has 
come  first  to  this  place,  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
Comanches  are  coming  here  to  meet  him.  I  am 
glad  that  my  people  are  living,  and  that  I  am  going 
back  to  see  them  once  more.  Do  not  fail  to  kill 


i88  Folk-Tales. 

him.  I  will  tell  the  other  woman  to  be  ready,  that 
our  friend  is  here,  and  we  will  wait  and  watch." 

When  the  woman  went  into  the  lodge,  she  whis 
pered  to  the  other  woman,  and  said,  "  Be  ready.  A 
friend  who  belongs  to  our  tribe  is  here.  Take  your 
hatchet,  and  be  prepared  to  help  to  kill  our  husband." 

The  two  women  waited,  and  the  Pawnee  made 
ready  to  shoot  the  Comanche  with  his  bow  and 
arrow.  The  woman  had  said  to  him,  "  Push  aside 
the  door  a  little  and  be  ready."  He  made  a  little 
bit  of  an  opening  by  the  door,  just  big  enough  to  let 
an  arrow  pass  through,  and  when  the  time  came  he 
let  it  go.  U'-ra-rish!  the  arrow  flew  straight,  and 
pierced  the  Comanche  through  the  heart.  So  he 
died,  and  the  Pawnee  counted  coup  on  him  and  took 
his  scalp. 

The  women  felt  so  glad  to  meet  a  friend  that  they 
put  their  arms  around  the  man  and  patted  him. 
They  were  going  back  home  to  see  their  relations. 
They  asked  him,  "  How  many  of  you  are  here  ? " 
He  answered,  "I  am  alone."  They  were  surprised. 

They  took  down  the  lodge,  and  packed  everything 
on  the  horses,  and  drove  off  the  herd,  leaving  the 
dead  body  of  the  enemy  in  the  camp.  All  night 
they  traveled,  and  all  the  next  day;  and  as  they  were 


O're-ka-rahr.  189 

going,  he  told  them  how  it  came  about  that  he  was 
alone.  They  told  him  that  there  were  about  three 
hundred  head  of  horses  in  the  herd  that  they  had 
with  them.  When  they  had  come  pretty  close  to 
where  he  had  left  the  child,  he  told  them  about 
the  boy  being  there  all  alone;  and  the  women  just 
ran  their  horses  to  get  to  the  boy;  whichever  got 
there  first,  he  should  be  hers.  When  they  came  to 
the  boy,  they  took  him  in  their  arms  and  petted  him, 
and  took  him  as  their  own. 

Now  the  father  was  no  longer  sad.  He  had  re 
covered  two  captured  women,  had  killed  his  enemy, 
and  had  taken  a  lot  of  horses. 

They  went  on,  and  traveled  far,  and  at  length, 
one  night,  they  came  to  the  Pawnee  tribe,  and 
camped  with  them.  The  horses  just  surrounded  the 
lodge,  you  could  just  see  the  top  of  it  over  their 
backs.  The  next  morning  all  the  people  wondered 
who  these  strangers  could  be.  They  found  out  that 
the  man  and  child,  who  were  lost,  had  returned, 
and  with  them  two  women,  captured  long  ago  by 
the  Comanches.  So  there  was  great  joy  in  the  tribe. 
Then  the  man  gave  his  relations  many  horses.  In 
those  days  the  Pawnees  had  not  many  horses,  and  it 
^eerns  that  this  man  {Drought  good  luclf  in  horses  to. 


190  Folk-Tales. 

the  tribe.  Ever  since  that  time  they  have  had  many 
horses.  The  mother  of  the  child  came  to  see  it,  she 
was  so  glad  it  was  alive,  but  she  was  whipped  out  of 
the  lodge. 

The  child  grew  to  be  a  man,  and  was  wealthy. 
After  he  had  grown  up,  he  told  his  father  that  ever 
since  he  could  remember  anything,  a  buck  deer  had 
talked  to  him,  and  taken  care  of  him;  that  it  had 
saved  them,  and  brought  them  good  fortune.  In 
order  that  the  O 're-ka-rahr  might  be  remembered, 
he  established  a  dance,  called  the  deer  dance,  which 
has  been  kept  up  to  this  day. 

Many  wonderful  things  happened  to  this  same 
young  man.  Once  he  went  on  a  war  party  against 
the  Cheyennes,  and  stole  some  horses  from  them. 
The  Cheyennes  followed  and  overtook  them,  and 
they  had  a  great  fight.  The  first  man  killed  was  this 
young  man.  He  was  very  brave,  and  the  Cheyennes 
cut  him  up  into  small  pieces,  but  that  night  it  light 
ened  and  thundered  and  rained,  and  soon  after  the 
storm  was  over,  the  young  man  came  walking  into 
camp  alive.  He  was  all  scarred  over,  where  he  had 
been  cut  up,  but  he  had  come  to  life  because  the 
deer  had  looked  after  him.  He  lived  long  to  show 
the  scars  of  the  battles  he  had  been  through. 


THE   GHOST   BRIDE. 

IN  a  place  where  we  used  to  have  a  village,  a 
young  woman  died  just  before  the  tribe  started 
on  the  hunt.     When  she  died  they  dressed  her  up  in 
her  finest  clothes,  and  buried  her,  and  soon  after 
this  the  tribe  started  on  the  hunt. 

A  party  of  young  men  had  gone  off  to  visit  an 
other  tribe,  and  they  did  not  get  back  until  after  this 
girl  had  died  and  the  tribe  had  left  the  village. 
Most  of  this  party  did  not  go  back  to  the  village, 
but  met  the  tribe  and  went  with  them  on  the  hunt. 
Among  the  young  men  who  had  been  away  was  one 
who  had  loved  this  girl  who  had  died.  He  went 
back  alone  to  the  village.  It  was  empty  and  silent, 
but  before  he  reached  it,  he  could  see,  far  off,  some 
one  sitting  on  top  of  a  lodge.  When  he  came  near, 
he  saw  that  it  was  the  girl  he  loved.  He  did  not 


192  Folk- Tales. 

know  that  she  had  died,  and  he  wondered  to  see  her 
there  alone,  for  the  time  was  coming  when  he  would 
be  her  husband  and  she  his  wife.  When  she  saw 
him  coming,  she  came  down  from  the  top  of  the 
lodge  and  went  inside.  When  he  came  close  to  her, 
he  spoke  and  said,  "Why  are  you  here  alo-ne  in  the 
village?"  She  answered  him,  "They  have  gone  off 
on  the  hunt.  I  was  sulky  with  my  relations,  and 
they  went  off  and  left  me  behind."  The  man  wanted 
her  now  to  be  his  wife,  but  the  girl  said  to  him,  "No, 
not  yet,  but  later  we  will  be  married."  She  said  to 
him,  "You  must  not  be  afraid.  To-night  there  will 
be  dances  here;  the  ghosts  will  dance."  This  is  an 
old  custom  of  the  Pawnees.  When  they  danced  they 
used  to  go  from  one  lodge  to  anotherr  singing,  danc 
ing  and  hallooing.  So  now,  when  the  tribe  had  gone 
and  the  village  was  deserted,  the  ghosts  did  this. 
He  could  hear  them  coming  along  the  empty  streets, 
and  going  from  one  lodge  to  another.  They  came 
into  the  lodge  where  he  was,  and  danced  about, 
and  whooped  and  sang,  and  sometimes  they  almost 
touched  him,  and  he  came  pretty  near  being  scared. 
The  next  day,  the  young  man  persuaded  the  girl 
to  go  on  with  him,  and  follow  the  tribe,  to  join  it  on 
the  hunt.  They  started  to  travel  together,  and  she 


The  Ghost  Bride.  193 

promised  him  that  she  would  surely  be  his  wife,  but 
not  until  the  time  came.  They  overtook  the  tribe; 
but  before  they  got  to  the  camp,  the  girl  stopped. 
She  said,  "Now  we  have  arrived,  but  you  must  go 
first  to  the  village,  and  prepare  a  place  for  me. 
Where  I  sleep,  let  it  be  behind  a  curtain.  For  four 
days  and  four  nights  I  must  remain  behind  this  cur 
tain.  Do  not  speak  of  me.  Do  not  mention  my 
name  to  any  one." 

The  young  man  left  her  there  and  went  into  the 
camp.  When  he  got  to  his  lodge,  he  told  a  woman, 
one  of  his  relations,  to  go  out  to  a  certain  place  and 
bring  in  a  woman,  who  was  waiting  there  for  him. 
His  relative  asked  him,  "Who  is  the  woman  ? "  And 
to  avoid  speaking  her  name,  he  told  who  were  her 
father  and  mother.  His  relation,  in  surprise,  said, 
"It  cannot  be  that  girl,  for  she  died  some  days  be 
fore  we  started  on  the  hunt." 

When  the  woman  went  to  look  for  the  girl  she 
could  not  find  her.  The  girl  had  disappeared.  The 
young  man  had  disobeyed  her,  and  had  told  who  she 
was.  She  had  told  him  that  she  must  stay  behind  a 
curtain  for  four  days,  and  that  no  one  must  know 
who  she  was.  Instead  of  doing  what  she  had  said, 
he  told  who  she  was,  and  the  girl  disappeared 


I94 


Folk-  Tales. 


because  she  was  a  ghost.  If  he  had  obeyed  the  girl, 
she  would  have  lived  a  second  time  upon  earth, 
That  same  night  this  young  man  died  in  sleep. 

Then  the  people  were  convinced  that  there  must 
be  a  life  after  this  one. 


INTERIOR    OF    DIRT    LODGE. 


THE   BOY  WHO   SAW   A-TI'-US. 

MANY  years  ago  the  Pawnees  started  on  their 
winter  hunt.  The  buffalo  were  scarce,  and 
the  people  could  get  hardly  any  meat.  It  was  very 
cold,  and  the  snow  lay  deep  on  the  ground.  The 
tribe  traveled  southward,  and  crossed  the  Republican, 
but  still  found  no  buffalo.  They  had  eaten  all  the 
dried  meat,  and  all  the  corn  that  they  had  brought 
with  them,  and  now  they  were  starving.  The  suffer 
ings  of  the  people  were  great,  and  the  little  ones 
began  to  die  of  hunger.  Now  they  began  to  eat  their 
robes,  and  parfleches,  and  moccasins. 

There  was  in  the  tribe  a  boy  about  sixteen  years 
old,  who  was  all  alone,  and  was  very  poor.  He  had 
no  relations  who  could  take  care  of  him,  and  he  lived 
with  a  woman  whose  husband  had  been  killed  by  the 
Sioux.  She  had  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl;  and 


she  had  a  good  heart,  and  was  sorry  for  the  poor 
boy,  In  this  time  of  famine,  these  people  had 
scarcely  anything  to  eat,  and  whenever  the  boy  got 
hold  of  any  food,  he  gave  it  to  the  woman,  who 
divided  it  among  them  all. 

The  tribe  kept  traveling  southward  looking  for 
buffalo,  but  they  had  to  go  very  slowly,  because  they 
were  all  so  weak.  Still  they  found  no  buffalo,  and 
each  day  the  young  men  that  were  sent  out  to  look 
for  them  climbed  the  highest  hills,  and  came  back  at 
night,  and  reported  that  they  could  only  see  the 
white  prairie  covered  with  snow.  All  this  time  little 
ones  were  dying  of  hunger,  and  the  men  and  women 
were  growing  weaker  every  day. 

The  poor  boy  suffered  with  the  rest,  and  at  last  he 
became  so  weak  that  he  hardly  could  keep  up  with 
the  camp,  even  though  it  moved  very  slowly.  One 
morning  he  was  hardly  able  to  help  the  old  woman 
pack  the  lodge,  and  after  it  had  been  packed,  he 
went  back  to  the  fire,  and  sat  down  beside  it,  and 
watched  the  camp  move  slowly  off  across  the  valley, 
and  up  over  the  bluffs.  He  thought  to  himself, 
"Why  should  I  go  on?  I  can't  keep  up  for  more 
than  a  day  or  two  longer  anyhow.  I  may  as  well 
stay  here  and  die."  So  he  gathered  together  the.- 


The  Boy  who  Saw  A-ti'-us.  igf 

ends  of  the  sticks  that  lay  by  the  fire,  and  put  them 
on  the  coals,  and  spread  his  hands  over  the  blaze, 
and  rubbed  them  together,  and  got  warm,  and  then 
lay  down  by  the  fire,  and  pretty  soon  he  went  to 
sleep. 

When  he  came  to  himself,  it  was  about  the  middle 
of  the  day,  and  as  he  looked  toward  the  sky  he  saw 
two  spots  there  between  him  and  the  sun,  and  he 
wondered  what  they  were.  As  he  looked  at  them 
they  became  larger  and  larger,  and  at  last  he  could 
see  that  they  were  birds;  and  by  and  by,  as  they 
came  still  nearer,  he  saw  that  they  were  two  swans. 
The  swans  kept  coming  lower  and  lower,  and  at  last 
they  alighted  on  the  ground  right  by  the  fire,  and 
walked  up  to  where  the  boy  lay.  He  was  so  weak 
he  could  not  get  up,  and  they  came  to  him,  one  on 
each  side,  and  stooped  down,  and  pushed  their 
shoulders  under  him,  and  raised  him  up  and  put  him 
on  their  backs,  and  then  spread  their  broad  wings, 
and  flew  away  upward.  Then  the  boy  went  to  sleep 
again. 

When  he  awoke  he  was  lying  on  the  ground  before 
a  very  big  lodge.  It  was  large  and  high,  and  on  it 
were  painted  pictures  of  many  strange  animals, 
in  beautiful  colors.  The  boy  had  never  seen 


198  Folk- Tales. 

such  a  fine  lodge.  The  air  was  warm  here, 
and  he  felt  stronger  than  before.  He  tried  to  raise 
himself  up,  and  after  trying  once  or  twice  he  got  on 
his  feet,  and  walked  to  the  door  of  the  lodge,  and 
went  in.  Opposite  the  door  sat  A-ti'-us.  He  was 
very  large  and  very  handsome,  and  his  face  was  kind 
and  gentle.  He  was  dressed  in  beautiful  clothes, 
and  wore  a  white  buffalo  robe.  Behind  him,  from 
the  lodge  poles,  hung  many  strange  weapons. 
Around  the  lodge  on  each  side  sat  many  chiefs,  and 
doctors,  and  warriors.  They  all  wore  fine  clothes  of 
white  buckskin,  embroidered  with  beautifully  colored 
quills.  Their  robes  were  all  of  beaver  skin,  very 
beautiful. 

When  the  boy  entered  the  lodge,  A-ti'-us  said  to 
him,  "  Looah,  pi-rau ',  we-tus  silks-pit — Welcome,  my 
son,  and  sit  down."  And  he  said  to  one  of  the  war 
riors,  "Give  him  something  to  eat."  The  warrior 
took  down  a  beautifully  painted  sack  of  parfleche,  and 
took  his  knife  from  its  sheath,  and  cut  off  a  piece  of 
dried  meat  about  as  big  as  one's  two  fingers,  and  a 
piece  of  fat  about  the  same  size,  and  gave  them  to 
the  boy.  The  boy,  who  was  so  hungry,  thought 
that  this  was  not  very  much  to  give  to  one  who  was 
Starving,  but  took  it,  and  began  to  eat.  He  put  the 


The  Boy  who  Saw  A- ft' -us.  199 

fat  on  the  lean,  and  cut  the  pieces  off,  and  ate  for  a 
long  time.  But  after  he  had  eaten  for  a  long  time, 
the  pieces  of  meat  remained  the  same  size;  and  he 
ate  all  that  he  wanted,  and  then  put  the  pieces  down, 
still  the  same  size. 

After  the  boy  had  finished  eating,  A-ti'-us  spoke  to 
him.  He  told  him  that  he  had  seen  the  sufferings  of 
his  people,  and  had  been  sorry  for  them;  and  then 
he  told  the  boy  what  to  do.  So  he  kept  the  boy 
there  for  a  little  while  longer,  and  gave  him  some 
fine  new  clothing  and  weapons,  and  then  he  told  one 
of  the  warriors  to  send  the  boy  back;  and  the  war 
rior  led  him  out  of  the  lodge  to  where  the  swans 
were  standing  near  the  entrance,  and  the  boy  got  on 
to  their  backs.  Then  the  warrior  put  his  hand  on 
his  face,  and  pressed  his  eyelids  together,  and  the 
boy  went  to  sleep.  And  by  and  by  the  boy  awoke, 
and  found  himself  alone  by  the  fire.  The  fire  had 
gone  out,  but  the  ground  was  still  covered  with  snow, 
and  it  was  very  cold. 

Now  the  boy  felt  strong,  and  he  stood  up,  and 
started,  running  along  the  trail  which  the  camp  had 
taken.  That  night  after  dark  he  overtook  the  camp, 
for  they  traveled  very  slowly,  and  he  walked  through 
the  village  till  he  came  to  the  lodge  where  the  woman 


2OO  Folk-  Tales. 

was,  and  went  in.  She  was  surprised  to  see  him  m 
his  new  clothes,  and  looking  so  well  and  strong,  and 
told  him  to  sit  down.  There  was  a  little  fire  in  the 
lodge,  and  the  boy  could  see  that  the  woman  was 
cutting  up  something  into  small  pieces  with  her 
knife. 

The  boy  said  to  her,  "What  are  you  doing?" 
She  answered,  "  I  am  going  to  boil  our  last  piece 
of  robe.     After   we   have  eaten  this  there  will  be 
nothing  left,  and  we  can  then  only  die." 

The  boy  said  nothing,  but  watched  her  for  a  little 
while,  and  then  stood  up  and  went  out  of  the  lodge. 
The  door  had  hardly  fallen  behind  him,  when  the 
woman  heard  a  buffalo  coughing,  and  then  the 
breaking  of  the  crisp  snow,  as  if  a  heavy  weight  was 
settling  on  it.  In  a  moment  the  boy  lifted  the  lodge 
door,  and  came  in,  and  sat  down  by  the  fire,  and 
said  to  the  woman,  "  Go  out  and  bring  in  some 
meat."  The  woman  looked  at  him,  for  she  was 
astonished,  but  he  said  nothing,  so  she  went  out,  and 
there  in  the  snow  by  the  side  of  the  lodge  was  a  fat 
buffalo  cow.  Then  the  woman's  heart  was  glad.  She 
skinned  the  cow,  and  brought  some  of  the  meat  into 
the  lodge  and  cooked  it,  and  they  all  ate  and  were 
satisfied.  The  woman  was  good,  so  she  sent  her  son 


The  Boy  who  Saw  A-ti'-us.  201 

to  the  lodges  of  all  her  relations,  and  all  her  friends, 
and  told  them  all  to  come  next  morning  to  her  lodge 
to  a  feast,  "for,"  she  said,  "I  have  plenty  of  meat." 

So  the  next  morning  all  her  relations  and  all  her 
friends  came,  so  many  that  they  could  not  all  get 
into  the  lodge,  but  some  had  to  stand  outside,  and 
they  ate  with  her,  and  she  cooked  the  meat  of  the 
cow  for  them,  and  they  ate  until  it  was  all  gone,  and 
they  were  satisfied.  And  after  they  had  done  eat 
ing,  they  lighted  their  pipes  and  prayed,  saying, 
"A-ti'-ust  we'-tiis  kit-tah-we — Father,  you  are  the 
ruler." 

While  they  were  smoking  the  poor  boy  called 
the  woman's  son  to  him,  and  pointed  to  a  high  hill 
near  the  camp,  and  said,  "Looah,  suks-kus-sis-pah  ti- 
rah  hah-tftr — Run  hard  to  the  top  of  that  hill, 
and  tell  me  what  you  see."  So  the  boy  threw  off 
his  robe,  and  smoothed  back  his  hair,  and  started, 
and  ran  as  hard  as  he  could  over  the  snow  to  the  top 
of  the  hill.  When  he  got  there  he  shaded  his  eyes 
with  his  hand,  for  the  sun  shone  bright  on  the  snow 
and  blinded  him,  and  he  looked  east,  and  west,  and 
north,  and  south,  but  he  could  see  nothing  but  the 
shining  white  snow  on  the  prairie.  After  he  had 
looked  all  ways,  he  ran  back  as  hard  as  he  could  to 


202  Folk-  Tales. 

the  village.  When  he  came  to  the  lodge,  he  went  to 
the  poor  boy,  and  said  to  him,  "  I  don't  see  anything 
but  the  snow."  The  poor  boy  said,  "You  don't  look 
good.  Go  again."  So  the  boy  started  again,  and 
ran  as  hard  as  he  could  to  the  hilltop,  and  when  he 
got  there,  panting,  he  looked  all  ways,  long  and  care 
fully,  but  still  he  could  see  nothing  but  the  snow. 
So  he  turned  and  ran  back  to  the  village,  and  told 
the  poor  boy  again  that  he  saw  nothing.  The  boy 
said,  "You  don't  look  good."  Then  he  took  his 
bow  in  his  hand,  and  put  his  quiver  on  his  back,  and 
drew  his  robe  up  under  his  arm  so  that  he  could  run 
well,  and  started,  himself,  and  ran  as  hard  as  he 
could  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  when  he  got  there 
he  looked  off  to  the  south,  and  there,  as  far  as  he 
could  see,  the  plain  was  black  with  buffalo  strug 
gling  in  the  deep  snow.  And  he  turned  to  the  vil 
lage,  and  signaled  them  with  his  robe  that  buffalo 
were  in  sight.  In  a  few  minutes  all  the  Pawnees  had 
seized  their  bows  and  arrows,  and  were  running 
toward  him,  and  the  women  fixed  the  travois,  and 
took  their  knives,  and  followed.  The  boy  waited  on 
the  hilltop  until  the  warriors  came  up,  and  then  they 
went  down  to  the  buffalo,  running  on  the  snow. 
The  buffalo  could  not  get  away  on  account  of  the 


The  Boy  who  Saw  A-ti'-us.  203 

deep  snow,  and  the  Pawnees  made  a  great  killing. 
Plenty  of  fat  meat  they  got,  enough  to  last  them 
until  the  summer  hunt,  and  plenty  of  warm  winter 
robes.  They  did  not  have  to  move  any  further,  but 
stayed  right  here,  killing  meat  and  drying  it  until 
they  were  all  fat  and  strong  again. 

And  the  poor  boy  became  a  great  doctor  in  the 
tribe,  and  got  rich. 

Before  this  the  Pawnees  had  always  had  a  woman 
chief,  but  when  the  woman  who  was  chief  died,  she 
named  the  poor  boy  as  her  successor,  and  the  people 
made  him  head  chief  of  the  tribe. 


FIRE-STICK. 


HOW  THE  DEER  LOST  HIS  GALL. 

ALONG  time  ago,  the  deer  and  the  antelope 
met  upon  the  prairie.  At  that  time  both  of 
them  had  dew-claws,  and  both  had  galls.  After  they 
had  talked  for  a  little  while,  each  one  of  them  began 
to  boast  about  how  fast  he  could  run.  Each  one, 
the  deer  and  the  antelope,  claimed  that  he  could  run 
faster  than  any  other  animal,  and  at  length  they 
became  very  angry  in  their  dispute,  and  determined 
that  they  would  have  a  race. 

They  staked  their  galls  on  the  race,  and  it  was  run 
on  the  prairie.  The  antelope  ran  the  faster,  and 
won,  and  took  the  deer's  gall.  The  deer  felt  very 
badly  that  he  had  lost  it,  and  he  seemed  so  miser 
able  that  the  antelope  felt  sorry  for  him,  and  to 
cheer  him  up,  he  took  off  his  dew-claws  and  gave 
them  to  him. 


How  the  Deer  Lost  His  Gall. 


205 


Since  that  time  the  deer  has  had  no  gall,  and  the 
antelope  no  dew-claws. 

NOTE. — A  story  somewhat  similar  to  this  is  current 
among  the  Blackfeet  tribes  of  the  northern  country. 
In  this  tale  the  antelope  won  the  deer's  gall,  as  in  the 
Pawnee  story.  Then  the  deer  said,  "You  have  won, 
but  that  race  was  not  a  fair  one,  for  it  was  over  the 
prairie  alone.  We  ought  to  run  another  race  in  the 
timber  to  decide  which  is  really  the  faster."  They 
agreed  to  run  this  second  race,  and  on  it  they  bet 
their  dew-claws.  The  deer  ran  the  faster  through  the 
thick  timber  and  over  the  logs,  and  beat  the  antelope, 
and  took  his  dew-claws.  Since  then  the  antelope  has 
had  no  dew-claws,  and  the  deer  no  gall. 


BOW    AND    ARROWS. 


YELLOW    FOX. 

ALONG  time  ago,  while  the  Pawnees  were  on 
their  winter  hunt,  a  young  boy,  Kiwuk-u  lah'~ 
kahta  (Yellow  Fox),  went  out  alone  to  hunt,  to  see 
if  he  could  kill  a  deer.  When  he  left  the  camp  in 
the  morning,  it  was  warm  and  pleasant,  but  in  the 
middle  of  the  day  a  great  storm  of  wind  and  snow 
came  up,  and  the  flying  snow  hid  everything,  and  it 
grew  very  cold.  By  and  by  the  ground  was  covered 
with  snow,  and  the  whole  look  of  the  prairie  was 
changed,  and  the  boy  became  lost,  and  did  not  know 
where  he  was,  nor  what  way  to  go  to  get  to  the 
camp.  All  day  he  walked,  but  he  saw  nothing  of 
the  camp,  nor  of  any  trail,  and  as  it  became  colder 
and  colder,  he  thought  that  he  would  surely  freeze 
to  death.  He  thought  that  he  must  die,  and  that 
there  was  no  hope  of  his  ever  seeing  his  people 


Yellow  Fox.  207 

again.  As  he  was  wandering  along,  numbed  and 
stiffened  by  the  cold,  and  stumbling  through  the 
deep  snow,  he  heard  behind  him  a  curious  singing 
sound,  and  in  time  with  the  singing  was  the  noise 
made  by  some  heavy  animal,  running.  The  sounds 
came  nearer,  and  at  last,  close  by  the  boy,  ran  a  great 
big  buffalo  bull.  And  as  he  ran  near  the  boy,  he 
sang  a  song,  and  as  he  sang,  the  sound  of  his  hoofs 
on  the  ground  kept  time  to  the  measure  of  the  song. 
This  is  what  he  sang: 

A-ti-us      ti-iua-ko     Ru-ru!        Teh-wah-hiva'-ko, 
My  Father      says,        Go  on !        He  keeps  saying, 

Ru-ru-h iba-h wa  ,  Wi-mh-re. 

Keep   going   on.       It   will    be   well. 

The  boy's  heart  became  strong  when  he  heard 
that  the  Father  had  sent  the  bull,  and  he  followed 
him,  and  the  bull  led  him  straight  to  the  camp. 


NOTES  ON  THE  PAWNEES. 


NOTE. 

THE  notes  on  the  origin,  customs  and  character 
of  the  Pawnees,  which  follow,  have  been  gath 
ered  during  twenty  years'  acquaintance  with  this 
tribe.  They  are  what  they  profess  to  be;  not 
a  history  of  the  people,  but  a  series  of  notes 
bearing  on  their  mode  of  life  in  the  old  wild  days, 
an  attempt  to  give  some  clues  to  their  habits  of 
thought,  and  thus  to  indicate  the  character  of  the 
people.  Such  notes  may  be  of  use  to  some  future 
historian  who  shall  have  the  time  and  the  inclination 
to  trace  out  more  fully  the  history  of  the  Pawnees, 
and  to  tell,  as  it  ought  to  be  told,  the  story  of  a 
people  who  once  were  great.  I  could  wish  that  it 
might  be  my  privilege  to  undertake  this  congenial 
task,  but  the  constantly  increasing  pressure  of  other 
duties  forbids  me  to  hope  that  I  shall  be  able  to  do 


212  Note. 

so.  I  feel  satisfaction,  however,  in  being  able  to 
record  the  observations  here  set  down. 

In  the  collection  of  this  material  I  had  for  years 
the  assistance  and  cooperation  of  the  late  Major 
Frank  North,  who  always  placed  at  my  disposal 
his  great  store  of  Pawnee  lore.  Luther  H.  North, 
his  brother,  has  given  me  a  vast  deal  of  assist 
ance,  and  last  spring  accompanied  me  to  the  Paw 
nee  reservation.  Without  his  aid  this  book  would 
never  have  been  written.  Mr.  John  B.  Dunbar 
has  been  most  kind  in  reading  over  the  chapter 
on  the  Pawnees,  and  has  aided  me  with  many  sug 
gestions,  besides  giving  me  help  on  certain  linguistic 
points. 

Nothing  is  said  in  this  volume  about  the  Pawnee 
language — a  subject  which  is  sufficiently  important 
to  deserve  a  volume  by  itself. 

To  every  intelligent  student  of  North  American 
aborigines  it  must  be  a  matter  of  keen  regret  that 
nothing  is  known  of  the  language  of  this  people. 
That  a  distinct  linguistic  stock  like  the  Pawnee 
should  pass  away  unrecorded  would  be  a  serious 
misfortune,  and  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  ought  certainly  to  take  some 
steps  to  preserve  a  record  of  the  Pawnee  language. 


Note.  213 

Major  Frank  North  was  undoubtedly  more  con 
versant  with  the  spoken  Pawnee  tongue  than  any 
other  white  man  has  ever  been.  Since  his  death, 
there  is  no  one  who  is  so  familiar  with  the  language 
as  Mr.  John  B.  Dunbar,  who  has  devoted  much  time 
to  its  study,  and  has  made  himself  acquainted  not 
only  with  its  vocabulary,  but  also  with  its  grammar. 
Born  and  reared  among  the  Pawnees,  familiar  with 
them  until  early  manhood,  a  frequent  visitor  to 
the  tribe  in  later  years,  he  is  well  fitted  by  interest 
and  association  to  undertake  the  task  of  recording  in 
permanent  form  the  unwritten  speech  of  this  people. 
Add  to  this  a  long  training  as  a  student  of  language 
and  history  and  a  keen  logical  mind,  and  we  have 
in  Mr.  Dunbar  the  man  more  than  all  others  best 
fitted  to  undertake  this  difficult  but  most  delightful 
task.  The  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
could  not  easily  perform  a  greater  service  for  abor 
iginal  linguistics  than  to  intrust  to  Mr.  Dunbar  the 
labor  of  preparing  an  extended  work  on  the  Pawnee 
language. 


THE   PAWNEES. 

I.    RELATIONSHIPS. 

T  TNTIL  within  a  few  years  the  home  of  the 
v-^  Pawnees  was  in  southern  Nebraska  and 
northern  Kansas.  This  group  of  tribes  may  be 
called  the  main  stock  of  the  family;  from  them  it 
took  its  name;  they  are  its  best  and  longest  known 
members.  In  the  earlier  accounts  of  this  people, 
the  Pawnee  Picts  or  Wichitas  are  often  confounded 
with  their  more  northern  relatives. 

The  Pawnees  proper  consisted  at  one  time  of  three 
bands  or  tribes,  federated  under  a  single  head  chief. 
These  bands,  in  the  order  of  their  importance,  were: 
The  Chau-i,  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  and  the  Pita-hau-erat. 
To  these  three  was  subsequently  added — after  the 
northern  migration  of  the  tribes,  and  their  settle 
ment  in  northern  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  but  probably 


2i6  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

long  anterior  to  the  advent  of  the  whites,  and  by 
conquest — the  large,  powerful  and  intelligent  allied 
tribe,  known  as  the  Skidi  or  Pawnee  Loups.  These 
four  have  always  been  known  in  the  writings  of  the 
earlier  explorers  in  the  West  as  respectively  the 
Grand,  the  Republican,  the  Tapage  and  the  Wolf 
Pawnees,  and  they  constituted  the  Pawnee  Nation,, 

The  three  tribes  first  named  have  always  been 
together,  and  their  Pawnee  names,  according  to 
Major  North,  denoted  the  relative  situations  of  the 
three  villages.  Thus  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  means  "on  a 
hill;"  Chau-i,  "in  the  middle;"  Pita-hau-erat,  "down 
the  stream,"  or  east;  and  in  the  olden  times  these 
were  the  relative  positions  of  the  different  villages 
when  the  three  bands  were  camping  together.  The 
Kit-ke-hahk'-i  village  was  always  the  westernmost  of 
the  three,  the  Chau-i  were  next  to  them,  and  the 
Pita-hau-erat  were  furthest  east.  After  the  incor 
poration  of  the  Skidi  with  the  Pawnees,  the  village 
of  that  tribe  was  always  placed  furthest  to  the  west, 
and  it  was  spoken  of  as  the  Upper  Village,  while 
the  other  bands  were  termed  the  Lower  Village 
Tribes. 

Of  the  three  original  bands,  the  Chau-i  has  always 
been  first  in  importance,  and  the  head  chief  has  been 


GOOD    CHIEF — KIT-KE-HAHK -I. 
ai7 


2i8  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

chosen  from  it.  The  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  band  in  num 
bers,  importance  and  intelligence  appear  to  rank 
about  with  the  Chau-i,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Pita  hau-erat  are  regarded  as  less  intelligent,  re 
sponsible  and  worthy  than  the  other  bands. 

The  Skidi  are  usually  looked  upon  as  more  intel 
ligent  than  the  Pawnees,  and  also  as  fiercer  in  their 
nature,  and  as  making  better  soldiers.  The  Skidi 
traditions,  though  such  testimony,  of  course,  is  not 
of  much  value,  speak  rather  contemptuously  of  the 
prowess  of  the  other  bands  in  war,  and  the  superi 
ority  of  the  Skidi  is  grudgingly  acknowledged  by  the 
others.  This  is  contrary  to  the  view  held  by  Mr.  J. 
B.  Dunbar,  who  speaks  of  the  Skidi  as  more  intel 
ligent  than  the  other  bands,  but  as  not  being  so  good 
as  warriors. 

Besides  this  main  group  of  tribes,  the  members  of 
the  Pawnee  family,  as  given  by  Mr.  Dunbar,  are  the 
Arickaras,  known  also  as  f  he  Arickarees,  Ricarees  or 
Rees,  the  Caddos,  the  Huecos  or  Wacoss  the 
Keechies,  the  Tawaconies,  and  the  Wichitas  or  Paw 
nee  Picts.  To  these  may  be  added  with  some  con 
fidence  the  Tonkaways  and  the  Lipans.  The  Cad- 
dos,  Huecos,  Keechies  and  Tawaconies  are  regarded 
by  the  Pawnees  as  closely  connected  with  the 


Relationships,  219 

Wichitas.  They  had  but  one  name,  Kiri-ku'ruks,  for 
all  these  tribes,  and  knew  no  distinction  between 
them.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Arickaras  were 
recently — perhaps  within  a  century — either  a  band 
of  the  Skidi  tribe,  or  at  least  allied  to  them  as 
closely  as  the  Chau-i  have  always  been  to  the  Kit-ke- 
hahk'-i  and  the  Pita-hau-erat.  The  relationship  of 
the  Tonkaways  and  the  Lipans  has  only  recently 
been  discovered,  and  has  come  to  light  through  the 
removal  of  the  Pawnees  from  their  home  in  Nebraska 
to  their  present  reservation  in  the  Indian  Territory. 
In  a  note  appended  to  his  article  on  the  Pawnees, 
published  in  the  Magazine  of  American  History  for 
November,  1880,  Mr.  Dunbar  says,  "A  friend,  who 
has  had  much  experience  with  the  Indians  of  the 
Southwest,  informs  me  that  he  is  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  Lipans  of  Mexico  are  of  Pawnee  stock. 
They  have,  in  times  past,  exchanged  frequent  hospi 
talities  with  the  Wichitas,  or  Pawnee  Picts,  and  the 
two  understand  each  other's  dialects  readily.  The 
name  Lipans  he  explains  as  li'panis,  that  is,  the 
Pawnees."  While  this  suggestion  is  very  interesting, 
so  far  as  it  goes,  it  scarcely  furnishes  sufficient 
ground  on  which  to  base  a  genetic  connection  of  the 
Lipans  with  the  Pawnee  family.  I  have  recently 


22O  Notes  on  the  Pawnees 

secured  additional  and  more  satisfactory  evidence  of 
such  a  connection 

It  is  generally  believed  by  the  Pawnees,  especially 
by  those  who  are  most  intelligent,  and  have  had 
most  intercourse  with  the  southern  tribes,  that  the 
Lipans  are  allied  to  them,  and  that  this  relationship 
is  traceable  through  the  Wichitas  and  the  Tonkaways. 
The  evidence  consists  of  (i)  statements  by  the 
Wichitas  and  Tonkaways,  (2)  an  alleged  similarity  of 
language  and  personal  names,  and  (3)  a  similarity  in 
the  songs  of  the  tribes.  A  Pawnee  Indian,  who  has 
lived  for  seven  seasons  with  the  Wichitas,  gave  me 
the  following  story  which  he  had  gathered  from  that 
people.  They  say  that  long  ago  they  did  not  know 
the  Tonkaways,  but  that  when  the  tribes  met  they 
found  that  they  could  understand  each  other's  speech. 
Their  languages  were  not  the  same,  but  they  were 
not  more  unlike  than  were  the  tongues  spoken  by  the 
Skidi  and  the  three  other  Pawnee  bands  long  ago; 
in  other  words,  they  were  dialects  of  the  same 
language.  After  that  meeting,  the  Tonkaways  and 
the  Wichitas  lived  together  for  a  time.  But  the 
Tonkaways  had  bad  ways.  They  would  eat  human 
flesh.  When  they  could  find  a  Wichita  boy  out  away 
from  the  camp,  they  would  capture  him,  and  strangle 


Relationships,  221 

and  eat  him.  Sometimes  they  would  kill  a  man  of 
the  Wichitas,  if  they  could  catch  him  away  off  on  the 
prairie.  Therefore  the  Wichitas  drove  the  Tonka- 
ways  off  south,  and  soon  afterward  moved  up  across 
the  Arkansas  River,  and  into  southern  Kansas. 
Since  then  the  Wichitas  and  the  Tonkaways  have 
never  lived  together.  A  Tonkaway  chief  named 
Charlie  told  Ralph  J.  Weeks,  an  educated  Pawnee, 
"  I  have  heard  that  my  people  are  Pawnees,  but  that 
we  separated  long  ago."  I  am  informed  that  the 
personal  names  of  the  Tonkaways  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  Pawnees,  and  are  readily  comprehended 
by  the  latter.  Ralph  Weeks,  while  in  a  Tonkaway 
lodge,  heard  a  man  call  out  to  a  girl,  addressing  her 
as  Tsi-saJt-ru-rah^ka'-ri-ku,  which  means  "  Woman 
Chief's  House."  Ralph  inquired  about  this  name, 
and  found  that  it  was  the  same  in  sound  as  Pawnee, 
and  had  the  same  meaning.  The  Tonkaways  say 
that  some  of  the  Pawnee  words  are  the  same  as 
those  used  by  their  relations  to  the  south,  the  Lipans 
and  others.  The  songs  of  the  Tonkaways  are  the 
same  as  those  of  the  Pawnees,  and  the  latter  at  once 
recognize  them.  The  old  songs  of  the  Lipans  are 
the  same  as  those  of  the  Pawnees,  according  to  both 
Pawnee  and  Tonkaway  testimony.  Finally,  the 


222  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

Tonkaways  and  Lipans  claim  close  relationship, 
They  speak  different  dialects  of  the  same  language. 

The  Pawnees,  however,  say  that  they  never  knew 
of  the  existence  of  the  Tonkaways  until  they  came 
down  into  the  Indian  Territory,  and,  of  course,  never 
met  them  until  after  that  time.  Neither  did  they 
know  the  Caddos.  As  the  Pawnees  knew  nothing  of 
the  Caddos  and  Tonkaways,  so  the  Wichitas  knew 
nothing  of  the  Arickaras  until  recently,  and  were 
greatly  surprised  to  learn  that  far  to  the  north  there 
was  another  tribe  which  spoke  their  language. 

The  Wichitas  claim  that  they  and  the  Caddos  are 
one  people.  Their  languages  are  said  to  differ 
somewhat,  but  only  dialectically. 

The  southern  members  of  the  Pawnee  family 
appear  always  to  have  lived  on  excellent  terms  with 
the  other  wild  tribes  which  inhabited  their  country. 
They  were  allies  of  the  Kiowas,  Comanches,  and 
Cheyennes,  tribes  with  which  the  northern  Pawnees 
were  long  at  war. 


Origin  and  Migrations.  223 


II.    ORIGIN    AND    MIGRATIONS. 

The  Pawnees  came  from  the  south.  All  the  in 
formation  bearing  on  their  origin,  which  has  as  yet 
been  secured,  points  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
primitive  home  of  this  family  was  in  the  south. 

Although  Mr.  Dunbar  has  carefully  traced  out  the 
later  history  of  several  of  the  members  of  this  group, 
his  researches  carry  us  back  scarcely  further  than  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  we  have  no 
actual  knowledge  of  the  origin  and  early  history  of 
the  Pawnees.  Except  the  Arickaras,  none  of  the 
tribes  belonging  to  this  family  have  ever  dwelt  much 
north  of  the  Platte  River,  and  in  this  we  have  an 
indication  of  their  southern  origin.  The  traditions 
of  the  tribe  confirm  this  suggestion,  and  Mr.  Dunbar 
has  given  other  reasons,  derived  from  his  study  of 
this  people,  which  abundantly  justify  us  in  regarding 
them  as  migrants  from  the  south. 

There  are  still  current  among  the  Pawnees  two 
traditions  as  to  the  region  from  which  they  came,  but 
both  of  these  are  vague,  and  so  lacking  in  detail  as 
to  be  of  little  value  except  as  suggestions  which 
need  confirmation  before  being  accepted  as  having 
any  solid  basis  of  fact.  The  first  of  these  traditions. 


224  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

now  half  forgotten,  is  known  only  to  the  very  oldest 
men.  It  is  to  the  effect  that  long  ago  they  came 
from  the  far  southwest,  where  they  used  to  live  in 
stone  houses.  This  might  point  to  an  original  home 
for  the  Pawnees  in  Old  Mexico,  and  even  suggests  a 
possible  connection  with  the  so-called  Pueblo  tribes, 
who  still  live  in  houses  made  of  stone,  and  entered 
from  above. 

Secret  Pipe  Chief,  a  very  old  Chau-i,  the  High 
Priest  of  the  tribe,  gave  me  the  history  of  their  wan 
derings  in  these  words:  "Long  ago,"  he  said,  "very 
far  back,  all  of  one  color  were  together,  but  some 
thing  mysterious  happened  so  that  they  came  to 
speak  different  languages.  They  were  all  together, 
and  determined  that  they  would  separate  into  dif 
ferent  parties  to  go  and  get  sinew.  They  could  not 
all  go  in  company,  there  were  too  many  of  them. 
They  were  so  numerous  that  when  they  traveled,  the 
rocks  where  their  lodge  poles  dragged  were  worn 
into  deep  grooves.  Then  they  were  far  off  in  the 
southwest,  and  came  from  beyond  two  ranges  of 
mountains.  When  they  scattered  out,  each  party 
became  a  tribe.  At  that  time  the  Pawnees  and  the 
Wichitas  were  together.  We  made  that  journey,  and 
went  so  far  east  that  at  last  we  came  to  the  Missouri 


Origin  and  Migrations.  225 

River,  and  stopped  there  for  a  time.  When  the 
season  came  round,  we  made  out  of  the  shoulder 
blade  of  a  buffalo  an  implement  to  cultivate  the 
ground.  There  we  made  our  fields." 

Another  very  old  man,  Bear  Chief,  a  Skidi,  said, 
"Long  ago  we  were  far  in  the  southwest,  away 
beyond  the  Rio  Grande.  We  came  north,  and 
settled  near  the  Wichita  Mountains.  One  summer 
there  we  planted  our  corn.  So  we  came  from  the 
south.  After  we  left  the  Wichita  Mountains,  that 
summer  we  came  north  as  far  as  the  Arkansas  River, 
and  made  our  fields,  and  raised  corn.  Afterward  we 
went  to  the  Mississippi  River  where  the  Missouri 
runs  into  it.  My  father  was  born  while  we  lived  on 
the  Mississippi."  As  Bear  Chief  must  be  nearly  or 
quite  eighty  years  old,  it  would  seem  likely  that  the 
Skidi,  or  some  village  of  that  tribe,  may  have  been 
established  on  the  Mississippi  one  hundred  years 
ago,  but  this  was  not  a  permanent  location. 

The  second  of  these  traditions  tells  of  a  migration 
from  the  southeast.  It  states  that  the  tribe  origin 
ally  came  from  somewhere  in  the  southeast,  that  is 
from  what  is  now  Missouri  or  Arkansas.  They 
started  north  after  sinew — to  hunt  buffalo — and  fol 
lowed  up  the  game,  until  they  reached  the  northern 


226  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

country — the  region  of  the  Republican  and  the 
Platte  rivers.  They  found  this  a  pleasant  country, 
abounding  in  game,  and  they  liked  it,  and  remained 
there.  The  Wichitas  accompanied  them  part  way  on 
their  journey,  but  turned  aside  when  they  had 
reached  southern  Kansas,  and  went  south  again. 

All  the  traditions  agree  that  up  to  the  time  of  the 
journey  which  brought  the  Pawnees  to  their  homes 
on  the  Solomon,  Republican,  Platte  and  Loup  rivers, 
the  Wichitas  were  considered  a  part  of  the  Pawnee 
tribe.  They  agree  also  that  after  this  separation, 
the  two  divisions  of  the  tribe  lost  sight  of  each  other 
for  a  very  long  time,  and  that  each  was  entirely 
ignorant  as  to  what  had  become  of  the  other.  We 
know  that  for  a  long  time  they  were  at  war,  and  the 
difference  of  the  dialects  spoken  by  these  two 
divisions  of  the  family  shows  that  the  period  of 
separation  was  a  long  one. 

The  tradition  of  the  migration  of  the  Pawnees 
from  the  southwest  is  evidently  much  older  than  the 
one  which  tells  of  their  coming  from  the  southeast. 
Most  of  the  younger  men  know  the  latter;  but  for 
the  account  of  the  journey  over  the  mountains  from 
the  southwest  and  across  the  Rio  Grande,  it  is  ne 
cessary  to  go  to  the  very  old  men.  It  is  quite  pos- 


Origin  and  Migrations.  227 

sible  that  both  stories  are  founded  on  fact;  and,  if 
this  is  the  case,  the  migration  from  the  southeast 
may  have  taken  place  only  a  few  generations  ago. 
Such  a  supposition  would  in  part  explain  its  general 
currency  at  the  present  time. 

In  the  existing  state  of  our  knowledge  of  this 
people,  we  have  no  facts  to  go  on,  nothing  in  the 
nature  of  evidence  as  to  their  early  history,  and  we 
can  only  speculate  as  to  the  probabilities  in  regard 
to  their  wanderings.  It  may  be  conjectured  that 
the  Pawnees  came  from  somewhere  in  Old  Mexico, 
and,  either  as  a  number  of  related  tribes,  or  as  a 
single  tribe  made  up  of  different  bands,  they  crossed 
the  mountains  and  the  Rio  Grande  in  a  body,  and 
wandered  eastward  across  what  is  now  Texas.  From 
this  body  it  seems  probable  that  the  ancestors  of  the 
Lipans  and  the  Tonkaways  were  the  first  to  separate 
themselves.  The  main  tribe  perhaps  gradually  drift 
ed  further  and  further  to  the  east  until  it  had  crossed 
Texas  and  reached  northwestern  Louisiana,  and  per 
haps  even  the  neighborhood  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
During  this  long  journey,  which  must  have  occupied 
many  years — perhaps  many  generations — we  may 
imagine  that  the  Huecos  and  possibly  the  Keechies 
dropped  behind,  and  remained  on  the  plains. 


228  Notes  on  the  Pawnees, 

How  long  the  Pawnees  sojourned  in  Louisiana 
no  one  can  say.  They  now  found  themselves  in  a 
country,  which  in  climate,  productions,  and  topog 
raphy,  differed  widely  from  anything  they  had  before 
known.  Up  to  this  time,  these  people  had  always 
inhabited  the  high,  dry  tablelands  of  Mexico,  or  the 
almost  equally  arid  plains  of  Texas,  and  now  they 
had  come  to  a  country  having  a  heavy  rainfall, 
abounding  in  swamps,  and  overgrown  with  decidu 
ous  timber.  The  traditions  of  both  Skidi  and  Paw 
nees  speak  of  a  time  when  they  lived  in  a  country 
where  grows  the  cane  which  the  white  men  use  for 
fishing  poles.  We  may  imagine  that  this  forest  coun 
try  was  a  barrier  to  their  further  progress  eastward, 
and  that  it  turned  their  steps  in  a  new  direction. 

When  the  Pawnees  left  Louisiana,  the  Caddos  cer 
tainly,  and  perhaps  the  Keechies  and  the  Tawaconies, 
were  left  behind,  and  for  a  very  long  time  lived  in 
and  near  what  is  now  Caddo  Parish,  Louisiana,  where 
they  were  at  the  time  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 
Geographical  names  in  this  region  indicate  that  their 
residence  there  was  a  long  one,  and  Caddo  Lake, 
Caddo  Fork,  Caddo  Gap  and  a  town  named  Keat- 
chie,  still  bear  testimony  of  the  former  occupants  of 
the  soil.  From  there  the  Caddos  moved  up  to  the 


Origin  and  Migrations.  229 

Brazos  River  in  Texas.  They  have  always  kept  up 
a  close  intimacy  with  the  Wichitas. 

Perhaps  it  was  during  the  sojourn  of  the  Pawnees 
on  the  western  borders  of  Louisiana  and  Arkansas, 
though  it  may  have  been  much  earlier,  that  the 
Skidi  and  the  Arickaras,  either  as  a  single  tribe,  or 
as  already  divided  into  two  separate  bands,  left  the 
Pawnees  and  moved  north  and  northwest.  There 
appears  to  be  reason  for  supposing  that  for  a  while 
this  section  of  the  tribe  lived  on  the  Red  River,  the 
Canadian  and  the  Arkansas,  and  it  is  quite  certain 
that  sometimes  they  went  as  far  east  as  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi  near  where  St.  Louis  now  is;  but 
their  permanent  home,  since  they  have  been  known 
to  the  whites,  was  on  the  Platte  and  the  Loup  rivers 
in  Nebraska. 

The  Pawnees  with  the  Wichitas  moved  northwest 
into  what  is  now  the  Indian  Territory  and  southern 
Kansas,  where  they  separated,  the  latter  turning  off 
to  the  south,  and  living  at  various  times  on  the  Ca 
nadian  and  Red  rivers  and  near  the  Wichita  Moun 
tains,  while  the  Pawnees  proper  slowly  continued 
their  march  northward  and  westward,  residing  for  a 
time  on  the  Arkansas  and  Solomon,  the  Republican 
and  Platte  rivers.  Here  they  again  met  the  Skidi. 


230  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

It  is  impossible  to  conjecture  when  this  settlement 
in  the  northern  country  took  place,  but  it  was  cer 
tainly  long  ago.  Mr.  Dunbar  has  pointed  out  that 
"O-kiit-ut  and  cku'-kat'  signify  strictly  above  and 
below  (of  a  stream)  respectively.  Now  their  villages 
have  usually  been  situated  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Platte,  the  general  course  of  which  is  from  west  to 
east.  Hence  each  of  these  words  has  acquired  a 
new  meaning,  /*.  ^.,  west  and  east."  In  the  same  way 
Puk-tfs'-tu — toward  the  Omahas,  has  come  to  mean 
north;  and  Ki' ri-ku' ruks-tu — toward  the  Wichitas,  to 
mean  south.  The  coining  of  such  words  points  to  a 
long  sojourn  by  the  Pawnees  in  the  region  of  the 
Platte.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Omahas 
have  never  in  historic  times  lived  north  of  the  Paw 
nees,  but  always  east  of  them,  though  we  know  that 
long  ago  they  did  live  to  the  north. 

These  remarks  on  the  movements  of  the  Pawnees 
are,  to  be  sure,  very  largely  speculative,  but  specu 
lation  guided  by  the  hints  gathered  from  conversa 
tions  with  the  older  men.  It  is  a  surmise  as  to  what 
may  have  been  the  wanderings  of  these  people.  If 
it  were  possible  to  talk  with  all  the  different  tribes 
of  the  family,  something  more  definite  might  be 
reached,  but  at  this  late  day  this  seems  hopeless.  A 


The  Skidi.  231 

study  of  the  Lipans,  and  an  investigation  of  their 
relationships  with  other  southwestern  tribes,  might 
furnish  us  clues  of  the  utmost  importance  in  tracing 
the  origin  of  the  Pawnee  family. 

III.    THE    SKIDI. 

Ranking  high  among  the  Pawnee  bands,  for  their 
intelligence,  energy  and  courage,  stand  the  Skidi. 
Their  past  history  is  obscure,  and  we  know  little 
about  it  beyond  the  fact  that  it  was  djfferent_from 
that  of  the  other  bands.  Although  the  relationship 
between  them  is  perfectly  well  established,  still  both 
Pawnee  and  Skidi  traditions  agree  that  the  two 
tribes  were  originally  distinct,  and  that  their  first 
meeting  took  place  long  ago,  but  after  the  migration 
of  the  Pawnees  to  the  northern  country.  We  know, 
too,  that  the  Arickaras  were  close  neighbors  and  near 
relatives  of  the  Skidi,  and  it  is  probable  that  they 
constituted  a  band,  village,  or  division  of  that  tribe. 

It  is  believed  by  those  who  should  be  well  in 
formed,  that  the  northward  migration  of  the  Rees 
took  place  not  more  than  a  century  ago.  One  tradi 
tion  of  the  separation  runs  in  this  way:  The  Skidi 
started  out  on  a  hunt,  a  part  going  ahead  and  the 


232  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

others  following  later.  The  first  party  were  killing 
buffalo,  when  they  were  attacked  by  a  large  war 
party  of  Sioux.  These  got  between  the  two  parties 
of  the  Skidi,  driving  one  of  them  back  to  the  village, 
while  the  other  retreated  northward.  This  retreat 
continued  until  they  had  been  driven  some  distance 
up  the  Missouri  River,  where  their  enemies  left  them. 
They  remained  there  through  the  winter,  and  planted 
their  corn  in  the  spring,  nor  did  they  apparently  for 
some  time  make  any  attempt  to  rejoin  their  tribe. 
After  some  years,  however,  the  two  bands  came 
together  on  the  Loup,  and  for  a  time  lived  together. 
The  Rees  even  went  further  south,  to  the  neighbor 
hood  of  the  Wichita  Mountains,  where  the  Pawnees 
at  that  time  were  living,  but  soon  afterward  they 
went  north  again,  and  rejoined  the  Skidi  on  the 
Loup,  and  lived  near  them  there,  and  on  the  Platte 
near  Scott's  Bluffs.  It  was  not  long,  however,  be 
fore  a  disagreement  arose  between  the  Rees  and  the 
Skidi,  and  the  Rees  again  moved  off  north*.  It  is 
probable  that  this  quarrel  may  have  originated  in 
the  fact  that  the  Rees  wished  to  make  war  on  the 
whites,  but  there  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  there 
was  also  jealousy  about  the  head  chieftainship  of  the 
two  bands. 


The  Skidi.  233 

The  testimony  of  men  still  living  indicates  that 
about  one  hundred  years  ago  some  of  the  Skidi  lived 
on  the  Mississippi  River,  near  the  present  site  of  St. 
Louis,  and  it  is  said  that  it  was  only  the  coming  in 
of  the  white  settlers  in  considerable  numbers  that 
caused  them  to  move  further  westward.  I  am  in 
clined  to  regard  this  location  as  only  a  temporary 
one,  and  to  believe  that  their  real  home,  prior  to  this, 
had  been  to  the  west,  on  the  Platte  and  Loup  rivers. 

It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  fix,  even  approxi 
mately,  the  time  when  the  Pawnees  and  the  Skidi 
came  together,  but  it  probably  was  soon  after  the 
Pawnees  had  settled  on  the  Republican  in  their 
northward  migration.  It  is  said  that  their  first 
meeting  was  friendly,  and  that  they  made  a  treaty, 
and  smoked  together.  But  no  peace  between  two 
such  warlike  tribes  could  last  very  long,  and  there 
were  frequent  collisions  and  disagreements.  There 
was  a  sharp  rivalry  between  the  Chau-i  and  the 
Skidi,  and  their  disputes  finally  culminated  in  an  un 
provoked  attack  by  the  Skidi  upon  some  Pawnees, 
while  they  were  hunting  buffalo,  in  which  about  one 
hundred  of  the  latter  were  killed.  The  Pawnees 
made  ready  to  avenge  this  injury,  and  marshaled  all 
their  forces.  They  made  a  night  march  to  the 


234  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

vicinity  of  the  Skidi  village,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  on  the  north  side  of  the  Loup,  distant  from 
their  own  only  about  twenty  miles,  and  just  at  day 
light  sent  out  about  one  hundred  warriors,  all 
mounted  on  dark  colored  horses,  to  decoy  the  Skidi 
from  the  village.  These  men,  lying  down  on  their 
horses,  and  covering  themselves  with  their  robes, 
represented  buffalo,  and  rode  over  the  hill  in  sight 
of  the  Skidi  village.  The  ruse  was  successful.  The 
Skidi  at  once  started  out  to  kill  the  buffalo,  leaving 
their  village  unprotected.  The  disguised  warriors 
fled,  leading  the  Skidi  further  away,  while  the  Paw 
nees  who  were  in  reserve  rushed  into  the  defenseless 
village,  and  captured  it,  almost  without  striking  a 
blow.  They  took  all  the  inhabitants  back  with  them 
to  their  own  village.  The  Skidi  were  forced  to  sue 
for  peace;  and  for  their  breach  of  faith  were  heavily 
fined  by  the  victorious  Pawnees.  They  were  incor 
porated  into  the  tribe,  and  since  that  time  have  lived 
as  a  part  of  the  Pawnee  nation.  This  event  was 
probably  the  culminating  point  of  a  series  of  petty 
fights  and  skirmishes,  which  must  have  been  annoy- 
ing  to  the  Pawnees.  This  fighting  went  on  within 
the  memory  of  men  now  living,  though  there  are  but 
few  who  are  old  enough  to  remember  it. 


The  Skidi.  235 

Curly  Chief,  who  is  about  65  years  old,  can 
remember  a  man  who  took  part  in  these  wars,  and 
whose  name  was  "The-Skidi-wounded-him-in-the- 
leg."  Bear  Chief,  a  very  old  and  decrepit  Skidi, 
and  Secret  Pipe  Chief,  an  old  Chau-i,  have  both 
told  me  that  they  can  remember  one  or  more  rights 
between  the  Skidi  and  the  other  bands. 

A  rather  interesting  evidence  of  the  feeling  once 
existing  between  the  Skidi  and  the  other  bands, 
and  even  now  surviving  among  some  of  the  oldest 
men,  is  the  statement  by  Bear  Chief  that  the  three 
other  bands  were  known  as  "Big  Shields,"  the  impli 
cation  being  that  as  they  hid  themselves  behind 
these  big  shields  they  were  not  so  brave  as  those 
who  used  smaller  ones.  The  existence  of  such  a 
feeling  at  the  present  day  indicates  that  the  final 
conquest  of  the  Skidi  and  their  incorporation  into 
the  Pawnee  tribe  took  place  not  very  long  ago. 

Mr.  Dunbar  sums  up  the  traditions  of  the  meeting 
of  the  tribes,  their  wars  and  subsequent  union,  in 
the  following  language:  "  The  historic  basis  of  this 
may  be  somewhat  as  follows:  In  the  migration  of 
the  Pawnees  from  the  south,  the  Skidi  preceded  the 
other  bands  perhaps  by  nearly  a  century.  With 
them  were  the  Arickaras.  These  two  bands  to- 


236  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

gether  possessed  themselves  of  the  region  of  the 
Loup.  When  the  other  bands  arrived  they  were 
regarded  as  intruders,  and  hence  arose  open  hostil 
ities.  The  result  of  the  struggle  was  that  the  two 
bands  were  forced  to  admit  the  new  comers,  and  aid 
in  reducing  the  surrounding  territory.  Subsequently 
the  Arickaras  seem  to  have  wandered,  or  more  prob 
ably,  to  have  been  driven  from  the  confederacy,  and 
to  have  passed  up  the  Missouri.  Later  the  Skidi,  in 
consequence  of  some  real  or  fancied  provocation, 
attempted  to  retrieve  their  losses,  but  were  sorely 
punished,  and  henceforth  obliged  to  content  them 
selves  with  a  subordinate  position  in  the  tribe." 

It  is  said  that  in  the  olden  time  the  Skidi  were 
very  powerful.  The  tribe  was  made  up  of  four 
bands  or  villages,  each  of  which  numbered  5,000 
people,  or  20,000  for  the  whole  tribe.  This  estimate, 
which  is  founded  merely  on  the  statements  of  old 
men  now  living,  is  probably  excessive.  There  is  no 
doubt,  however,  that  they  were  a  large  and  power 
ful  tribe,  while  their  warlike  habits  and  fierce  natures 
caused  them  to  be  feared  and  hated  by  all  their 
neighbors. 

The  four  divisions  of  the  Skidi  tribe  exist  now 
only  in  name,  and  the  origin  of  these  names  is 


The  Skidi.  237 

almost  forgotten.     As  the  result  of  much  effort  and 
inquiry,  I  have  secured  the  following  list: 

Names  of  the  Skidi  Bands. 

1.  Tuhk-pah-huks-taht — Pumpkin   vine  village. 
This  name  is  said  to  have  come  from  the  fact  that 
once,  after  planting  time,  this  band  went  off  on  the 
summer  hunt,  and  while  they  were  away,  the  pump 
kin  vines  grew  so  luxuriantly  that  they  climbed  up 
over  the  lodges,  covering  and  hiding  them. 

2.  Skidi  rah'ru — Wolves  in  the  pools  (of  water). 
The  name  originated  in  this  way:     Long  ago  one 
band  of  the  Skidi  were  camped  on  the  Loup  River. 
It  was  winter,  and  the  buffalo  came  to  them  in  great 
numbers.      They  killed   many  and  prepared  great 
quantities  of  dried  meat.     The  buffalo  kept  coming, 
and  at  length  they  had  so  much  meat  that  they  had 
room  for  no  more.     When  they  could  no  longer 
store  dried  meat,  they  stopped  taking  the  flesh  of 
the  buffalo  and  took  only  the  hides.     The  buffalo 
continued  to  come  and  to  cross  the  river  just  below 
the  camp,  and  the  men  on  foot  would  chase  the 
buffalo  on  the  ice,  where  the  great  animals  would 
slip  and  sprawl,  so  that  the   Skidi  could  run  up 


238  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

close,  and  stab  them.  They  would  skin  them  there 
and  leave  the  carcasses  on  the  ice.  From  far  and 
near  great  numbers  of  wolves  gathered  to  feed  on 
the  carcasses,  and  as  it  was  toward  spring,  and  the 
weather  was  growing  milder,  the  ice  began  to  melt 
on  top,  and  little  pools  of  water  stood  on  it.  About 
this  time,  there  came  to  this  village  a  Skidi  from 
another  band  who  were  half  starving,  for  they  could 
find  no  buffalo  at  all.  When  the  man  saw  that  this 
village  had  so  much  meat,  he  wondered  at  the 
plenty,  and  asked  how  it  was.  They  took  him  out 
from  the  village  down  to  where  the  dead  buffalo  lay 
on  the  ice,  and  pointed  them  out  to  him,  and  he  saw 
the  wolves  standing  in  the  water  and  feeding  on  the 
carcasses.  Then  they  took  him  back  to  the  village, 
gave  him  all  the  dried  meat  he  could  carry,  and  sent 
him  away  to  his  home,  heavily  loaded.  When  he 
reached  his  own  village  he  told  the  people  there 
how  those  in  the  other  camp  had  plenty,  and  when 
they  asked  him  where  it  was,  he  told  them,  and  said 
that  it  was  Skidi  ratiru — where  the  wolves  stand  in 
the  pools  of  water. 

3.  Tuh-wa-hok' -a-sha — Village  on  a  ridge.  Tuh 
— village,  wa — the  central  roach  on  the  head  of  a 
man  whose  hair  has  been  shaved  on  both  sides,  hoti- 


Name  and  Emblem.  239 

a-sha — curving  over.  This  village  was  on  a  ridge, 
reaching  over  on  both  sides  of  it. 

4.  Tu-hi'ts-pi-yet — Village  on  a  point  or  peninsula. 
Tuh — village,  camp,  or  band;  hits-pi-yu — a  point. 

There  are  yet  to  be  seen  on  the  Loup  Fork,  in 
Nebraska,  innumerable  remains  of  Skidi  villages, 
some  of  which  are  very  ancient. 

IV.    NAME    AND    EMBLEM. 

It  is  probable  that  the  name  Pawnee,  as  Mr.  Dun- 
bar  has  remarked,  is  an  abbreviated  form  of  the 
word  pa-ri'-ki,  which  means  a  horn,  and  referred  to 
the  peculiar  erect  scalp  lock  which  may  once  have 
been  worn  by  this  tribe.  As  Mr.  Dunbar  says,  the 
name  probably  once  embraced  the  Pawnee  Picts  or 
Wichitas,  among  whom  this  fashion  of  wearing  the 
hair  seems  to  have  persisted  long  after  it  had  been 
abandoned  by  the  Pawnees.  The  same  writer  gives 
the  name  Arickara  as  from  "ur'-ik-i,  a  horn;  with  a 
verbal  or  plural  suffix,  being  thus  simply  a  later  and 
exact  equivalent  of  Pa'  ni  itself." 

The  name  Pawnee  Picts,  so  commonly  applied  to 
the  Wichitas,  appears  to  mean  Pawnee  Picked,  or 
tattooed  Pawnees;  and  refers  to  the  markings  upon 


240  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

the  faces  and  breasts  of  these  people,  which  are 
picked  in  with  a  sharp  instrument.  The  northern 
Indians  speak  of  the  Pawnees  as  Pa-na'-na,  while 
the  southern  tribes  call  them  Pi-ta'-da,  and  the  Da- 
kotas  call  the  Arickaras  Pa-da' -ni.  All  these  appear 
to  be  merely  attempts  to  reproduce  the  name  by 
which  the  Pawnees  call  themselve,  Pa'-ni. 

The  English  names  of  the  four  bands  of  the  Paw 
nees  are,  as  has  been  already  stated,  for  the  Skidi, 
the  Wolf;  for  the  Chau-i,  the  Grand;  for  the  Kit-ke- 
hahk'-i,  the  Republican,  and  for  the  Pita-hau-erat,  the 
Tapaje,  Pawnees. 

An  old  French  trader,  who  has  known  these 
people  for  many  years,  states  that  the  Skidi  are 
called  Wolf  Pawnees  from  the  river  Loup,  on  which 
they  lived;  that  Grand  is  an  abbreviation  for  Grand 
pas,  because  the  Chau-i  were  mostly  tall  men  and 
took  long  steps;  that  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  were  called 
Republican  from  the  river  of  that  name,  and  the 
Pita-hau-erat  Tapaje  (Fr.  noisy),  because  they  are 
noisy  and  restless,  and  are  continually  moving  about 
from  place  to  place.  This  explanation  of  these  Eng 
lish  names  is  not  altogether  satisfactory.  Mr.  Dunbar 
informs  me  that  he  believes  that  the  Chau-i  were 
called  Grand  from  the  appellation  given  them  by  the 


Name  and  Emblem.  241 

Spaniards,  who  called  them  Los  Grandes,  referring 
to  their  physical  stature. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  Skidi  the  names  of  the  four 
bands  of  that  tribe  have  been  given,  and  their  origin 
and  derivation.  The  other  tribes  were  divided  into 
bands,  or  gentes,  but  these  divisions  have  almost 
been  forgotten.  Of  the  Chau-i  there  is  now  said  to 
be  only  one  band;  of  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  three;  the 
Great  Kit-ke-hahk'-i,  Little  Kit-ke-hahk'-i,  and  Black 
head  Kit-ke-hahk'-i;  while  of  the  Pita-hau-erat  there 
were  two  bands,  the  Pita-hau-erat  proper  and  the 
Ka-wa-ra'-kish.  This  last-named  division  appears  to 
have  had  some  customs  peculiar  to  itself,  and  quite 
different  from  anything  known  to  the  other  Pawnees. 

The  Pawnees  call  the  Wichitas  and  the  other  re 
lated  southern  tribes  Kiri-kur'uks — Bear's-eyes.  The 
reason  for  this  appellation  is  obscure.  The  only  ex 
planation  of  it  that  I  have  been  able  to  obtain,  is  that 
when  the  Pawnees  first  saw  the  Wichitas  they 
thought  they  had  eyes  like  a  bear.  As  Mr.  Dunbar 
has  suggested  to  me,  the  allusion  may  have  been  to 
the  ring  sometimes  painted  or  tattooed  about  the 
eyes  of  the  Wichitas. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  an  Indian  receives 
his  personal  name  from  some  peculiarly  memorable 


242  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

act  that  he  has  performed,  or  from  some  incident 
that  has  happened  to  him.  This  is  not  now  com 
monly  the  case  in  the  tribes  with  which  I  am  best 
acquainted.  Personal  names  formerly  originated  in 
this  way  among  the  Indians,  but  at  the  present  day 
I  question  much  if  they  are  often  given  for  such 
reasons.  Most  of  the  names  borne  by  the  warriors 
have  been  long  known  in  the  tribe,  and  I  believe  the 
coining  of  new  names  to  fit  a  special  set  of  circum 
stances  to  be  now  quite  unusual.  Children  were 
named  soon  after  they  were  born,  and  retained  their 
childish  names  until  well  grown.  Ta'-ka — white, 
was  a  common  boy's  name,  as  was  Ka-tit — black; 
Ki-ri  kt — bright  eyes,  was  often  given  to  little  girls. 
Nicknames  referring  to  personal  peculiarities  were 
common. 

Here  is  a  list  which  will  give  some  notion  of  the 
general  character  of  the  Pawnee  names:  Lucky 
Hawk,  Good  Fox,  Turn-your-robe-hair-out,  Chief  of 
Men,  Pipe  Chief,  Lone  Chief,  Leader,  Brave  Chief, 
Leading  Fox,  Still  Hawk,  Hunting  Chief,  Yellow 
Fox,  Charging-the-camp,  Angry  Chief,  Little  War 
rior,  Good  Bear,  Eagle  Chief,  Sun  Chief,  White 
Horse,  He-gives-away-many-horses-and-others-ride- 
them,  Riding-up,  Good  Sky,  Walking  Bear,  Proud 


Name  and  Emblem.  243 

Eagle,  Seven  Stars,  Sitting  Bull,  Big  Mountain, 
Fancy  Horse,  Fox  Chief,  Good  Sun,  Curly  Hair, 
Blue  Hawk,  Mad  Wolf,  White  Elk,  Young  Hawk, 
War  Chief,  Good  Chief,  Curly  Chief,  Sitting  Eagle, 
Running  Eagle,  Mad  Bear,  Walking  Sun,  See-the- 
eagle-fiying,  etc. 

Mr.  Dunbar  states  that  "the  tribal  mark  of  the 
Pawnees  in  their  pictographic  or  historic  painting 
was  the  scalp  lock  dressed  to  stand  nearly  erect,  or 
curving  slightly  backward  something  like  a  horn."  I 
have  never  met  a  Pawnee  who  knew  of  this  manner 
of  dressing  the  hair  in  his  own  tribe,  but  all  unite  in 
stating  that  the  Wichitas  used  to  wear  the  lock  in 
this  manner.  If  this  is  the  case,  no  doubt  in  ancient 
times  it  was  common  to  the  Pawnees  as  well,  but 
with  them  it  has  become  obsolete,  and  is  now 
forgotten. 

In  books  the  sign  for  "Pawnee"  is  sometimes 
given  as  the  forefinger  of  the  right  hand  held  at  the 
back  of  the  crown  of  the  head,  and  pointing  upward 
to  represent  this  erect  scalp  lock,  but  I  conceive 
that  this  sign  is  really  that  of  the  Pawnee  Picts  or 
Wichitas,  who  have  been  so  constantly  confused 
with  the  true  or  northern  Pawnees. 

The  only  sign  for  "Pawnee"  that  I  have  ever  seen 


244  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

employed  among  Indians  in  t,ae  West  is  that  for 
"wolf,"  which  is  the  name  under  which  the  Pawnees 
are,  or  at  least  were  formerly,  known  to  most  other 
tribes.  This  sign  is  made  in  two  ways,  (i)  by  hold- 


SIGN    FOR    PAWNEE. 

mg  the  two  hands,  palm  forward,  the  first  and  middle 
fingers  extended  close  together  upward  and  a  little 
forward,  thumb  and  other  fingers  closed,  close  to 
the  head,  about  opposite  the  temple;  (2)  the  right 
hand  alone  may  be  held  palm  forward  at  the  height 
of,  and  just  in  front  of,  the  shoulder,  the  first  and 
middle  fingers  extended,  separated  and  pointing 
upward,  the  thumb  and  others  closed;  the  hand  is 
then  moved  forward  and  downward  from  the  wrist, 


Name  and  Emblem.  245 

so  that  the  extended  fingers  point  almost  to  the 
front.  Both  these  signs  represent  the  pricked  ears 
of  a  wolf,  and,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  are 
universally  understood  to  mean  "  Pawnee."  The 
one  last  described  is  now  much  the  more  common  of 
the  two.  The  first  of  these  signs  is  shown  in  the 
frontispiece,  which  is  copied  from  an  engraving  in 
the  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

The  Pawnees  have  always  been  called  by  their 
neighbors  to  the  south  "Wolves."  It  has  been  sug 
gested  that  this  term  was  applied  to  them  by  their 
enemies  in  contempt,  but  there  seems  no  reason  for 
believing  this  to  have  been  the  case,  since  it  may  be 
doubted  that  an  Indian  feels  contempt  for  a  wolf 
any  more  than  he  does  for  a  fox,  a  rabbit,  or  an  elk. 

An  Indian  going  into  an  enemy's  country  is  often 
called  a  wolf,  and  the  sign  for  "a  scout"  is  made  up 
of  the  signs  "wolf"  and  "look."  The  Pawnees 
were  most  adroit  scouts,  warriors  and  stealers  of 
horses;  and  it  seems  perfectly  natural  that  they 
should  have  received  from  the  neighboring  tribes, 
who  had  such  frequent  evidences  of  their  skill  as 
scouts  and  horse  takers,  the  appellation  Wolf.  The 
Pawnees  themselves  believe  that  the  term  was 
applied  to  them  because  of  their  great  endurance, 


246  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

as  well  as  of  their  skill  in  imitating  wolves  so  as  to 
escape  detection  by  the  enemy  either  by  day  or 
night.  The  Cheyennes,  Wichitas  and  Comanches  all 
testify  that  they  call  the  Pawnees  Wolves  because 
they  prowl  like  wolves;  because,  too,  they  have  the 
endurance  of  wolves,  and  can  travel  all  day,  and 
dance  all  night,  and  can  make  long  journeys,  living 
on  the  carcasses  they  find  on  their  way,  or  on  no 
food  at  all. 

The  Pawnees,  when  they  went  on  the  warpath, 
were  always  prepared  to  simulate  wolves.  This  was 
one  of  their  regular  practices,  and  this  no  doubt  was 
one  reason  for  their  remarkable  success  in  taking 
horses,  for  it  enabled  them  to  escape  observation 
and  to  reconnoitre  at  close  quarters  without  danger 
of  discovery.  Wolves  on  the  prairie  were  too  com 
mon  to  excite  remark,  and  at  night  they  would  ap 
proach  close  to  the  Indian  camps,  and  often  venture 
into  them.  The  Pawnee  who  was  disguised  as  a 
wolf  could  trot  up  close  to  the  village  of  his  enemy, 
see  where  the  horses  were  tied,  and  perhaps  even 
hear  what  was  being  said,  and  lay  his  plans  accord 
ingly.  The  Pawnee  starting  off  on  the  warpath 
usually  carried  a  robe  made  of  wolf  skins,  or  in 
later  times  a  white  blanket  or  a  white  sheet;  and,  at 


Name  and  Emblem.  247 

night,  wrapping  himself  in  this,  and  getting  down  on 
his  hands  and  knees,  he  walked  or  trotted  here  and 
there  like  a  wolf,  having  thus  transformed  himself 
into  a  common  object  of  the  landscape.  This  dis 
guise  was  employed  by  day  as  well.  To  escape  ob 
servation  when  traveling  in  daylight,  the  Pawnee 
war  party  always  chose  the  ravines  and  lower  ground 
to  march  in.  Sometimes,  especially  in  a  country 
where  there  was  danger  of  coming  unexpectedly  on 
the  enemy,  it  was  important  that  a  reconnoissance 
should  be  made  from  some  commanding  point.  A 
man  walking  up  to  the  top  of  a  hill  might  be  seen, 
and  recognized  as  a  suspicious  object,  a  long  way 
off,  but  no  one  would  look  a  second  time  at  a  wolf. 
While  the  party  remained  hidden  in  some  ravine  or 
hollow,  therefore,  the  man  who  was  to  ascend  the 
hill  would  put  his  white  robe  over  him  and  gallop 
to  the  top  on  all  fours,  and  would  sit  there  on  his 
haunches  looking  all  over  the  country,  and  any  one 
at  a  distance  who  saw  him,  would  take  him  for  a 
wolf.  It  was  acknowledged  on  all  hands  that  the 
Pawnees  could  imitate  wolves  best.  In  one  of  the 
stories  already  given,  an  instance  is  mentioned  in 
which  two  Pawnees  in  the  United  States  service 
made  use  of  this  device  to  recover  captured  animals. 


248  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

The  name  "Wolf,"  as  given  to  the  Pawnees,  is 
probably  merely  a  translation  of  the  word  Skirt 'kt, 
meaning  wolf,  from  which  the  name  of  the  Skidi 
band  may  be  supposed  to  be  derived.  Mr.  Dunbar 
says:  "The  emblem  probably  originated  from  the 
Skidi  band.  They  being  in  advance  of  the  other 
bands  in  the  northern  migration,  became  known  to 
the  tribes  about  them  as  wolves;  and  as  the  other 
bands  arrived  the  sign  was  naturally  made  to  include 
them  also,  and  in  this  enlarged  use  was  at  length  ac 
cepted  by  the  Pawnees  themselves." 


BUFFALO     HORN     LADLE     AND     SPOON. 


PAWNEE    CUSTOMS. 

I.    EARLY    DAYS. 

PAWNEE  history  goes  back  to  a  time  when  the 
tribe  knew  nothing  of  horses.  In  those  early 
days  they  went  on  foot,  and  depended  for  animal 
food  on  their  bows  and  arrows.  At  that  time  their 
bows  did  not  differ  from  those  recently  in  use,  but 
the  heads  of  their  arrows  were  made  of  stone,  and 
their  knives  were  of  flint.  With  this  simple  equip 
ment  they  set  out  on  the  hunt. 

Choosing  a  still  day,  they  would  surround  a  sma.lf 
bunch  of  buffalo,  stretching  out  in  a  long  line  whose 
extremities  would  gradually  draw  together,  as  the 
hunters,  perhaps  disguised  as  wolves,  stole  from  hill 
to  hill,  around  the  unconscious  prey.  WThen  the 
circle  was  complete,  some  one  man  would  shout  and 
startle  the  buffalo,  and  then  as  they  turned  to  run, 


250  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

another  man  would  show  himself  before  them,  and 
call  out,  and  turn  them,  and  whichever  way  they  ran, 
some  one  would  appear  before  them,  and  turn  them 
back.  The  buffalo,  becoming  each  moment  more 
frightened,  would  run  now  this  way,  now  that,  and 
gradually  the  Pawnees  would  close  in  on  them,  but 
would  still  keep  the  buffalo  from  breaking  through 
the  line  by  yelling,  and  by  tossing  their  robes  in  the 
air.  As  the  prey  became  more  and  more  terror- 
stricken  and  confused,  they  would  run  here  and 
there,  and  round  and  round  within  the  ring  of  men; 
and  as  they  grew  more  tired,  the  men  would  close  in 
on  them  still  more,  and  first  one,  and  then  another, 
would  shoot  an  arrow,  until  at  last  the  arrows  were 
flying  fast,  and  some  of  the  great  beasts  were  down, 
and  others  were  staggering  along  with  the  blood 
pouring  from  their  mouths;  and  soon  the  buffalo 
.were  so  worn  out  that  they  could  run  no  longer,  and 
it  was  an  easy  matter  for  the  Indians  to  dispatch 
them.  Even  those  which  were  only  slightly  wounded 
were  secured,  for  it  is  said  that  when  the  animals 
were  hit  by  the  arrows,  even  if  it  were  only  in  the 
leg,  they  would  soon  swell  up  and  die.  This  state 
ment  refers  to  a  belief,  which  I  find  quite  widespread 
among  plains  Indians,  that  the  ancient  stone  arrow 


Early  Days.  251 

heads  were  peculiarly  deadly,  and  possessed  this 
property,  that  even  a  slight  touch  with  them  made  a 
wound  which  was  likely  to  be  fatal.  The  Blackfeet 
Indians  have  often  told  me  the  same  thing  about  the 
stone  arrow  heads  which  they  used  in  early  times. 

Game,  which  inhabited  the  underbrush  or  the 
forest,  was  captured  by  a  method  similar  to  that 
employed  to  secure  the  buffalo.  If  the  Pawnees 
discovered  that  deer  or  e4k  were  in  a  piece  of  timber, 
they  would  surround  it,  and  then  alarm  the  game, 
and  keep  them  from  breaking  through  the  line  of 
men.  The  animals,  frightened  and  confused,  would 
run  round  and  round  in  a  circle  until  exhausted, 
when  the  Pawnees  would  close  in,  and  kill  them  with 
their  arrows. 

It  must  be  remembered  in  this  connection,  that  in 
those  days  game  animals  were  enormously  abundant 
and  comparatively  tame,  and  also,  that  the  Pawnees, 
from  the  necessities  of  their  lives,  were  exceedingly 
active,  very  swift  runners,  and  as  tireless  as  the 
wolves  from  which  they  took  their  name.  Their 
endurance  was  something  astonishing.  In  their  long 
journeys  on  the  warpath  they  often  traversed  on  foot 
six  or  eight  hundred  miles  of  country,  carrying,  dur 
ing  a  part  of  the  time,  very  heavy  loads.  Instances 


252  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

are  not  uncommon  where  runners  have  traveled  one 
hundred  miles  in  twenty-four  hours.  I  myself  know 
of  a  case  where  two  men  ran  over  seventy  miles  in 
eleven  hours.  We  may  imagine  that  in  the  old  days 
when  the  Pawnees  made  all  their  journeys  on  foot, 
and  were  thus  constantly  exercising,  their  speed  and 
activity  were  greater,  and  their  powers  of  endurance 
Still  more  remarkable. 

Although  their  ancient  arrows  were  usually  headed 
with  flint,  they  sometimes  used  bone  or  the  sharpened 
tine  of  a  deer's  horn.  No  one  now  alive  can  remem 
ber  when  these  were  in  common  use,  but  there  are 
men  who  have  heard  their  fathers  and  their  grand 
fathers  tell  of  them,  and  who  say  that  these  arrows 
were  good  for  war  and  for  the  chase.  "You  could 
drive  them  through  a  thick  shield,"  said  Bear  Chief. 
As  soon  as  they  began  to  trade  with  the  whites, 
arrow  heads  of  sheet-iron  came  into  use.  They  say 
that,  so  long  as  the  Pawnees  used  flint  for  making 
arrow  heads,  they  used  to  find  plenty  of  these  stones 
lying  on  the  prairie,  but  that  when  the  whites  brought 
them  iron,  Ti-ra'-wa  said  to  himself,  "The  Pawnees 
no  longer  need  these  flint  stones;  I  will  make  no 
more  of  them."  This  shows  an  odd  confusion  of 
ideas,  for,  of  course,  the  reason  that  they  did  not 


Early  Days.  253 

find  the  stones  was  that  they  no  longer  looked  for 
them,  their  use  having  been  abandoned. 

Although  these  stone  arrow  heads  must  have 
passed  out  of  general  use  toward  the  end  of  the  last 
century,  yet  some  of  them  were  preserved  much 
later,  and  it  is  possible  that  there  may  even  now  be 
some  among  the  Pawnees,  hidden  away  in  the  sacred 
bundles.  After  they  ceased  to  be  used  for  general 
purposes,  they  took  on  a  sacred  character  and  were 
employed  to  slay  the  sacrifices;  among  the  Skidi  to 
kill  the  captive,  and  in  the  Lower  Village  tribes  the 
buffalo  and  deer,  for  sacrifice.  There  was  a  time 
when  it  was  deemed  essential  that  the  animals  to  be 
sacrificed  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  should  be  killed  by  one  of 
these  ancient — and  so  sacred — arrows. 

In  the  early  days  the  Pawnees  did  not  depend  for 
food  wholly — perhaps  not  even  largely — on  the  flesh 
of  the  animals  which  they  killed  by  hunting.  They 
have  always  been  an  agricultural  people,  cultivating 
the  ground,  and  raising  corn,  beans,  pumpkins,  and 
squashes.  They  also  dug  up  many  edible  roots,  and 
collected  and  dried  various  berries  and  other  fruits, 
Besides  this,  they  captured  birds  and  smaller  mam 
mals  by  means  of  snares  and  traps.  It  is  said  that 
before  they  obtained  horses,  they  killed  but  few 


254  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

buffalo,  only  enough  to  provide  themselves  with 
clothing  and  with  sinew  for  sewing,  backing  bows, 
and  other  uses. 

The  Pawnees  aver  that  they  have  cultivated  the 
corn  as  far  back  as  they  can  remember.  They  say 
also  that  this  is  their  corn,  that  it  is  not  the  corn  of 
the  whites,  but  is  different  from  it — which  is  true — 
and  that  they  did  not  get  it  from  the  whites.  It  is  their 
own.  On  this  they  insist  strenuously.  I  have  found 
it  impossible  to  obtain  any  clue  as  to  where  the  com 
came  from  or  how  they  obtained  it.  To  all  inquiries 
on  this  point,  they  reply  that  it  must  have  been 
"handed  down  from  above;"  that  it  was  given  them 
by  "the  Ruler."  Various  stories  are  told  about  it, 
but  none  of  them  are  very  pointed  or  satisfactory. 

They  call  the  corn  a-ti'ra,  "mother."  It  has  a 
sacred  character,  and  plays  an  important  part  in  many 
of  their  religious  ceremonies.  This  name  which  they 
give  it,  the  mother  corn,  no  doubt  refers  to  the  fact 
that  it  nourishes  and  supports  them;  that  by  it  they 
are  made  strong.  I  have  also  heard  it  said  that  it 
is  called  mother  because  it  produces  others;  it  has 
young  ones  like  a  woman;  "you  put  it  in  the  ground 
and  it  brings  forth  others." 

The   Pawnees  cultivated  their   fields  with  hoes 


Early  Days.  255 

made  from  the  shoulder  blade  of  the  buffalo.  Tak 
ing  the  ligament  from  the  back  of  a  buffalo's  neck, 
they  lashed  a  stick  firmly  to  the  articulation  of  the 
shoulder  blade,  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  plane 
of  the  bone  and  to  its  length.  Then,  dipping  the 
joint  into  hot  water,  the  ligament  would  shrink,  and 
bind  the  bone  and  the  handle  together  as  firmly  as 
iron. 

Years  ago,  on  the  sites  of  abandoned  Pawnee  vil 
lages,  on  the  Loup  Fork  and  on  the  Platte,  frag 
ments  of  pottery  used  to  be  found  among  the  debris 
of  the  fallen  lodges.  The  manufacture  of  this  pot 
tery  was  no  doubt  abandoned  long  ago,  and  has 
probably  not  been  practiced  to  any  considerable 
extent  since  they  met  the  whites.  A  man  about  fifty 
years  of  age  stated  to  me  that  he  had  never  seen 
these  pots  in  use,  but  that  his  grandmother  had  told 
him  that  in  her  days  they  made  and  used  them.  He 
said  that  they  were  accustomed  to  smooth  off  the 
end  of  a  tree  for  a  mould.  A  hot  fire  was  then  built, 
in  which  stones  were  roasted,  which  were  afterward 
pounded  into  fine  powder  or  sand.  This  pounded 
stone  they  mixed  with  fine  clay,  and  when  the  ma 
terial  was  of  the  proper  consistency,  they  smeared 
it  over  the  rounded  mould,  which  was  perhaps  first 


256  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

well  greased  with  buffalo  tallow.  After  the  clay  had 
been  made  of  even  thickness  throughout,  and  smooth 
on  the  outside,  they  took  a  small,  sharp  stone,  and 
made  marks  on  the  outside  to  ornament  it.  When 
the  material  was  sufficiently  dry,  they  lifted  it  from 
the  mould  and  burned  it  in  the  fire,  and  while  it  was 
baking,  "put  corn  in  the  pot  and  stirred  it  about,  and 
this  made  it  hard  as  iron."  This  may  mean  that  it 
gave  the  pot  a  glaze  on  the  inside.  In  these  pots 
they  boiled  food  of  all  kinds.  Mr.  Dunbar  informs 
me  that  these  pots  were  also  made  in  later  times 
within  a  frame-work  of  willow  twigs.  The  clay, 
made  very  stiff,  was  smeared  on  this  frame,  the  inside 
being  repeatedly  smoothed  with  the  moistened  hand, 
and  but  little  attention  being  given  to  the  appearance 
of  the  outside  After  they  had  been  sun-dried,  such 
pots  were  baked  without  removing  the  frame,  which 
burned  away  in  the  fire,  leaving  the  marks  of  the 
twigs  visible  on  the  outside  of  the  pot. 

Corn  was,  and  is  still,  crushed  in  wooden  mortars, 
hollowed  out  by  fire,  and  the  pestle  is  also  of  wood, 
about  four  feet  long,  with  an  enlargement  at  the 
upper  end  to  give  added  weight. 

Dishes  and  bowls  were  made  of  wood,  or  of  large 
gourds;  spoons  and  ladles  were  fashioned  from  the 


Early  Days.  257 

horns  of  the  buffalo;  mats  were  woven  of  rushes, 
ropes  of  buffalo  hair,  and  lariats  of  rawhide, 

Fire  in  the  early  days  was  obtained  by  means  of 
fire  sticks,  the  point  of  one  being  twirled  on  a  hollow 
in  the  other,  until  the  charred  dust  at  first  smoked 
and  then  ignited.  It  is  said  that  sometimes  it  would 
take  four  men  to  make  a  fire,  one  relieving  another 
as  they  grew  tired.  It  was  hard,  slow  work,  but 
sometimes  one  man, -if  he  was  stout,  could  make  a 
fire  alone.  The  use  of  fire  sticks  on  war  parties  has 
continued  till  within  a  short  time,  perhaps  within 
twenty  years. 

As  their  clothing  was  manufactured  wholly  from 
skins,  sewing  occupied  a  considerable  part  of  the 
time  of  the  women.  This  was  done  by  means  of  a 
bone  needle — often  the  metacarpal  or  metatarsal 
bone  supporting  the  accessory  hooflets  of  the  deer 
— and  a  thread  twisted  of  sinews.  Such  sewing  was 
extremely  durable. 

The  other  implements  and  utensils  of  the  Pawnees 
did  not  differ  materially  from  those  of  other  plains 
Indians. 

It  is  a  long  time  since  they  first  began  to  use 
articles  and  implements  manufactured  by  the  whites. 
Curly  Chief  related  to  me  the  story  of  what  was  per- 


258  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

haps  the  first  official  visit  from  the  whites  ever  re 
ceived  by  the  Pawnees.  He  said: 

"I  heard  that  long  ago  there  was  a  time  when 
there  were  no  people  in  this  country  except  Indians. 
After  that  the  people  began  to  hear  of  men  that  had 
white  skins;  they  had  been  seen  far  to  the  east. 
Before  I  was  born  they  came  out  to  our  country  and 
visited  us.  The  man  who  came  was  from  the  Gov 
ernment.  He  wanted  to  make  a  treaty  with  us,  and 
to  give  us  presents,  blankets  and  guns,  and  flint  and 
steel,  and  knives. 

"The  Head  Chief  told  him  that  we  needed  none 
of  these  things.  He  said,  'We  have  our  buffalo 
and  our  corn.  These  things  the  Ruler  gave  to  us, 
and  they  are  all  that  we  need.  See  this  robe.  This 
keeps  me  warm  in  winter.  I  need  no  blanket.3 

"The  white  men  had  with  them  some  cattle,  and 
the  Pawnee  Chief  said,  'Lead  out  a  heifer  here  on 
the  prairie.'  They  led  her  out,  and  the  Chief,  step 
ping  up  to  her,  shot  her  through  behind  the  shoulder 
with  his  arrow,  and  she  fell  down  and  died.  Then 
the  Chief  said,  'Will  not  my  arrow  kill?  I  do  not 
need  your  guns/  Then  he  took  his  stone  knife  and 
skinned  the  heifer,  and  cut  off  a  piece  of  fat  meat. 
When  he  had  done  this  he  said,  '  Why  should  I  take 


Every -Day  Life.  259 

your  knives  ?  The  Ruler  has  given  me  something  to 
cut  with.' 

"  Then  taking  the  fire  sticks,  he  kindled  a  fire  to 
roast  the  meat,  and  while  it  was  cooking,  he  spoke 
again  and  said,  'You  see,  my  brother,  that  the 
Ruler  has  given  us  all  that  we  need;  the  buffalo  for 
food  and  clothing;  the  corn  to  eat  with  our  dried 
meat;  bows,  arrows,  knives  and  hoes;  all  the  imple 
ments  which  we  need  for  killing  meat,  or  for  culti 
vating  the  ground.  Now  go  back  to  the  country 
from  whence  you  came.  We  do  not  want  your  pres 
ents,  and  we  do  not  want  you  to  come  into  our 
country.* 

"Afterward,  however,  a  treaty  was  made.  The 
first  treaties  were  not  to  purchase  land.  The  Gov 
ernment  made  presents,  and  bought  the  right  to  pass 
through  the  country.  Roads  were  made  up  the 
Republican,  the  Platte  and  the  Solomon  rivers." 

II.    EVERY-DAY    LIFE. 

In  these  hasty  remarks  upon  the  ways  of  the  Paw 
nees,  which  are  in  fact  no  more  than  a  series  of 
rough  notes  supplementary  to  Mr.  Dunbar's  fuller 
history  of  this  people,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  give 


260  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

any  general  account  of  their  habits.  These  can  be 
learned  by  reference  to  the  papers,  so  often  quoted. 
My  object  is  to  give  a  picture  of  the  Pawnee  ways 
of  thought  rather  than  of  their  material  life. 

Their  government  was  semi-republican.  They 
were  ruled  by  a  head  chief,  in  later  times  always  the 
head  chief  of  the  Chau-i  band;  and  this  title  was 
hereditary,  but  the  chief,  if  he  had  not  the  requisite 
strength  of  character,  might  lose  all  his  influence, 
and  his  position  be  practically,  though  not  in  name, 
held  by  a  sub-chief  or  even  warrior  of  his  own  or 
another  band.  As  has  been  well  said,  "The  office 
itself  was  hereditary,  but  authority  could  be  gained 
only  by  acknowledged  personal  accomplishments." 
Each  band  was  ruled  as  to  its  own  affairs  by  four 
chiefs — a  head  chief,  second  chief,  third  and  fourth 
chiefs — but  often  some  warrior  who  held  no  office, 
and  bore  no  title,  might  wield  more  power  and  influ 
ence  than  any  of  these.  In  minor  matters,  the  chief 
gave  his  orders  without  consultation  with  any  one, 
but  more  important  affairs  were  usually  discussed  in 
council  by  chiefs,  head  men  and  warriors,  and  the 
opinion  of  the  assemblage  prevailed,  even  if  It  were 
opposed  to  the  opinion  of  the  chief.  Among  the 
Pawnees,  as  elsewhere,  a  man's  personal  character 


Every -Day  Life.  261 

determined  the  position  he  should  occupy  and  the 
influence  he  should  wield.  Bravery,  wisdom,  and 
personal  popularity  were  the  important  factors  in 
acquiring  and  retaining  influence  and  authority. 

Mr.  Dunbar  alludes  to  one  matter  which  is  little 
understood  in  general;  that  is  the  existence  among 
the  Pawnees  of  a  class  of  servants.  These  were  for 
the  most  part  young  men,  or  boys  growing  up,  who 
had  not  yet  acquired  any  special  standing.  They 
lived  in  the  families  of  men  of  position  and  influence, 
from  whom  they  received  support,  and  for  whom 
they  performed  many  offices,  which  were  almost 
menial.  The  relation  which  they  held  to  the  head 
of  the  family  was  not  altogether  unlike  that  of  a 
page  or  a  squire  to  his  knight  in  mediaeval  times. 
These  young  men  drove  in  and  saddled  the  horses, 
made  the  fires,  ran  errands,  and  carried  messages 
for  the  leaders  whom  they  followed.  The  same 
menial  offices  were  often  performed  by  other,  older 
men,  who  were  too  lazy  and  too  worthless  to  make 
positions  for  themselves,  and  who  were  willing  to 
continue  to  serve  for  their  support.  This  relation 
of  servant  persisted  even  among  the  Pawnee  Scouts 
after  their  enlistment,  and,  while  among  the  privates 
in  this  body  all  were  of  course  equal  in  name,  it  was 


262  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

yet  common,  as  the  camp  prepared  to  start  in  the 
morning,  to  see  the  younger  men  saddling  up  the 
horses,  and  performing  other  duties  for  the  chiefs 
and  the  proved  warriors,  whose  military  standing 
was  no  higher  than  their  own. 

The  dress  of  the  old-time  Pawnee  male  consisted 
of  a  breech  clout,  leggings,  fringed  at  the  side,  and 
reaching  from  ankle  to  thigh,  and  moccasins.  Over 
all  this,  when  the  weather  demanded  it,  was  worn 
the  buffalo  robe,  the  hair  side  being  turned  in.  The 
dress  of  the  women  consisted  of  a  sort  of  sleeveless 
shirt,  and  a  skirt  of  dressed  buffalo  cow  skin,  reach 
ing  to  below  the  knee,  with  leggings  of  cloth  or 
buckskin,  laced  above  the  knee,  and  moccasins. 
They  also  wore  the  robe  or  blanket.  No  head  cov 
ering  was  used,  though  in  war  and  on  great  occa 
sions  the  men  wore  bonnets  or  chaplets  of  eagle 
feathers,  and  sometimes  both  men  and  women  wove 
wreaths  out  of  cottonwood  or  willow  twigs,  with  the 
green  leaves  left  on,  to  shade  their  eyes  from  the 
fierce  rays  of  the  sun.  The  children  were  at  first 
scantily  clad.  The  boy,  after  he  was  released  from 
his  board,  went  naked,  except  perhaps  for  a  string 
of  beads  around  his  neck,  until  he  was  ten  or  twelve 
years  old,  though  usually  he  assumed  the  breech 


Every-Day  Life.  263 

clout  before  that  age.  Girls  were  clad  in  a  shirt  or 
smock  almost  as  soon  as  they  could  walk. 

At  the  present  time  but  few  of  the  Pawnees  wear 
their  hair  cut  in  the  ancient  fashion,  but  twenty 
years  ago  a  large  proportion  of  the  older  men  had 
the  whole  head  shaved,  except  a  narrow  roach 
which  ran  from  the  forehead  to  the  back  of  the 
head.  This  roach,  on  which  the  hair  was  usually 
left  less  than  an  inch  long,  was  sometimes  stiffened 
at  the  sides  with  grease  and  paint  to  make  it  stand 
up  well.  From  this  roach  the  scalp  lock  fell  back  in 
its  natural  position.  At  the  present  day  many  of  the 
men  cut  their  hair  short,  like  the  whites.  The  women 
usually  wore  their  hair  in  two  braids,  one  on  each 
side,  falling  behind  the  ears,  and  the  younger  ones 
were  careful  in  tending  it. 

All  hair  upon  the  face  and  on  other  parts  of  the 
body  was  usually  plucked  out,  but  I  have  seen  a 
Pawnee  with  a  heavy  beard  under  his  chin. 

Paint  was  freely  used  in  ornamentation,  especially 
on  the  face  and  breast.  Black,  as  is  the  case  with 
most  tribes,  was  the  color  for  war.  Red,  white  and 
yellow,  were  used  merely  for  ornament. 

As  already  indicated,  the  arms  of  the  Pawnees 
were  the  bow  and  arrow,  the  lance,  the  club,  and  the 


264  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

hatchet.  The  bow  was  almost  invariably  made  of 
the  bois  d'arcy  and  was  backed  with  sinew,  and  had  a 
string  of  the  same  material.  The  arrows  were  made 
with  the  greatest  labor,  care  and  exactness,  and  those 
manufactured  by  each  individual  were  so  marked 
that  they  could  at  once  be  distinguished  from  those 
of  every  other  maker.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
arrows  of  each  Indian  tribe  differed  from  those  of 
every  other  tribe,  but  besides  this,  each  man's  arrows 
bore  his  private  mark.  The  manufacture  of  the  bow 
and  arrows  was  a  long,  slow  process,  and  after  they 
had  been  completed  they  were  carefully  guarded  and 
protected  from  injury.  Although  the  Pawnees  have 
long  been  accustomed  to  use  firearms  in  war,  yet  the 
use  of  the  bow  and  arrow  in  hunting  persisted  up  to 
quite  recent  times,  in  fact  up  to  the  date  of  the  dis 
appearance  of  the  buffalo.  A  reason  for  this  is 
readily  found  in  the  fact  that  an  arrow  cost  only 
time  to  manufacture,  and  the  Indian  has  an  abund 
ance  of  time.  For  cartridges,  or  for  powder  and 
lead,  he  must  pay  money,  or  trade  some  of  his  pos 
sessions.  An  arrow,  too,  may  be  used  over  and  over 
again,  and  may  thus  account  for  many  head  of  game, 
whereas  a  cartridge  can  be  used  but  once.  In  their 
secret  war  expeditions,  too,  the  bow  was  a  favorite 


Every -Day  Life.  265 

weapon,  because  it  was  noiseless.  An  enemy  found 
at  a  little  distance  from  his  camp,  could  be  stealthily 
approached  and  silently  shot  down,  without  neces 
sarily  alarming  persons  in  the  neighborhood,  when 
a  rifle  shot,  ringing  over  the  prairie  and  echoing 
among  the  bluffs,  would  call  out  every  warrior  in 
the  village,  to  learn  whence  it  came.  I  have  been 
told,  by  warriors,  that  on  their  war  parties,  they  left 
their  rifles  at  home  and  carried  only  their  bows,  so 
that  they  might  not  be  tempted  by  the  sight  of  an 
enemy  to  fire  a  shot,  which  might  bring  themselves 
and  their  companions  into  danger. 

The  Pawnees  were  superb  horsemen  and  owned 
many  ponies.  I  can  learn  nothing  definite  as  to 
when  they  first  obtained  these  animals,  nor  from 
what  source.  A  tradition  exists,  that  up  to  the  time 
of  the  tribe's  advent  into  the  northern  country,  their 
only  beast  o*f  burden  was  the  dog,  which  then  carried 
their  packs  and  hauled  their  travois.  The  story  goes 
that  the  Pawnees  obtained  their  first  horses  soon 
after  their  separation  from  the  Wichitas.  The  three 
bands  were  traveling  north  together,  when  the  scouts 
who  had  been  sent  ahead  to  overlook  the  country, 
hastened  back  and  announced  to  the  chiefs  that  they 
had  discovered  a  camp  of  Indians.  A  council  was 


266  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

at  once  held  to  determine  whether  they  should  at 
tack  this  unknown  village  as  enemies,  or  should  ap 
proach  them  as  friends.  The  majority  declared  for 
an  attack,  and  it  was  so  decided.  Approaching 
under  cover  as  near  as  possible,  the  horde  of  dusky 
footmen  poured  over  the  hills  and  down  into  the 
valley  where  stood  the  doomed  village.  The  attack 
was  sudden,  fierce,  and  successful.  They  killed  and 
captured  many  of  the  enemy,  and  took  the  camp, 
while  the  survivors  fled  in  hopeless  confusion. 
Among  the  plunder  taken  were  a  lot  of  horses; 
strange  beasts  then  to  the  rude  Pawnees,  and  at 
which  they  wondered  greatly.  A  captive  woman 
explained  to  the  conquerors  that  these  creatures 
were  good  to  ride,  and  useful  to  pack  on.  Old  men 
still  tell,  with  a  smile,  of  the  ludicrous  first  attempts 
of  the  warriors  to  ride  the  horses.  This  occurrence 
is  said  to  have  taken  place  on  the  Smok}*Hill  River, 
in  what  is  now  Kansas,  and  the  Indians  from  whom 
the  horses  were  captured,  are  understood  to  have 
been  Cheyennes. 

The  permanent  habitations  of  the  Pawnees  were 
dirt  or  sod  houses,  often  of  very  considerable  size. 
The  remains  of  the  old  medicine  lodge  of  the  Skidi, 
on  the  Loup,  show  it  to  have  be'en  two  hundred  and 


268  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

ten  feet  in  diameter.  The  lodges  were  circular  in 
form,  with  walls  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  and  the 
roof  rose  from  these  walls  to  the  apex  above  the 
center  of  the  lodge,  where  was  the  hole  for  the 
escape  of  smoke  from  the  fire,  which  burned  on  the 
floor  below.  A  covered  passageway  led  to  the  en 
trance.  Around  the  walls  the  inmates  slept,  the 
beds  being  partitioned  off,  and  protected  in  front 
as  well,  by  a  curtain  which  might  be  a  skin,  or  a  mat 
woven  of  reeds  or  coarse  grass.  The  cooking  was 
all  done  over  the  fire  in  the  middle  of  the  lodge. 
Possessions  were  stowed  away  behind  the  beds,  or 
hung  up  on  the  posts  which  supported  the  roof. 

On  their  hunts  or  when  traveling,  the  Pawnees 
used  the  ordinary  cow  skin  lodge  of  the  plains 
Indians.  This  was  composed  of  neatly  dressed 
buffalo  hides,  from  which  the  hair  had  been  removed, 
set  up  over  a  frame-work,  made  up,  usually,  of  six 
teen  long  slender  poles.  An  opening  at  the  top  gave 
exit  to  the  smoke;  and  wings,  projecting  at  either 
side  of  the  smoke  hole,  and  so  arranged  that  their 
positions  could  be  changed  by  moving  two  addi 
tional  poles  on  the  outside  of  the  lodge,  served  to 
regulate  the  draft,  and  keep  the  lodge  free  from 
smoke.  The  inmates  slept  close  to  the  walls,  and 


Every -Day  Life.  269 

the  fire,  with  the  inevitable  pot  hanging  over  it, 
burned  in  the  middle.  These  lodges  were  warm,  and 
usually  dry,  and  made  good  shelters.  They  were 
occupied  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  for  the 
Pawnees,  after  the  spring  planting  was  fairly  over, 
usually  started  at  once  on  their  summer  hunt,  from 
which  they  only  returned  in  time  to  harvest  their 
crops.  At  the  beginning  of  winter,  when  the  robes 
were  at  their  best,  they  made  the  winter  hunt,  from 
which  they  did  not  return  until  toward  spring.  The 
planting  over,  they  set  out  again  on  the  hunt. 

In  their  personal  intercourse  with  each  other,  and 
with  strangers,  the  Pawnees  were  kindly  and 
accommodating.  I  have  had  little  kindnesses  un 
ostentatiously  done  me  by  Pawnee  men,  such  as  I 
should  never  expect  to  receive  from  white  persons 
not  connected  with  me  by  ties  of  blood.  In  the  vil 
lage,  the  well-to-do  gave  freely  to  those  who  were 
poor,  and  all  were  very  hospitable.  They  were  a 
light-hearted,  merry  race,  keenly  alive  to  the  ridicul 
ous,  and  very  fond  of  a  joke.  They  were  great 
chatterers,  and  had  about  them  nothing  of  the  sup 
posed  taciturnity  of  the  Indian.  Of  modesty  or 
delicacy  in  conversation,  as  we  know  it,  they  had 
none.  Both  sexes  spoke  freely  to  each  other  of 


270  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

matters  which  are  never  mentioned  in  civilized 
society,  and  much  of  their  conversation,  as  well  as 
many  of  their  stories,  could  not  well  be  printed. 

III.    A    SUMMER    HUNT. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  July,  1872.  The  Pawnees 
were  preparing  to  start  on  their  semi-annual  buffalo 
hunt,  and  only  the  last  religious  rites  remained  to  be 
performed  before  the  nation  should  leave  the  village 
for  the  buffalo  range. 

"Eh,  idadi,  whoop"  came  from  without  the  lodge; 
and  as  I  replied,  tf£7iya,  whoop"  the  sturdy  figure  of 
Le-ta-kats-ta' -ka  appeared  in  the  doorway, 

"Lau,  zdad,  tut-tii-ta-rik  ti-rah-rck — Come,  brother, 
they  are  going  to  dance,"  he  said,  and  then  he  turned 
and  went  out. 

I  rose  from  the  pile  of  robes  on  which  I  had  been 
dozing,  and,  after  rolling  them  up,  strolled  out  after 
him.  The  village  seemed  deserted,  but  off  toward 
the  medicine  lodge,  which  stood  upon  its  outskirts, 
I  could  see  a  throng  of  Indians;  and  a  low  murmur 
of  voices  and  of  footsteps,  the  hum  which  always 
accompanies  any  large  assemblage,  was  borne  to  my 
ears  on  the  evening  breeze.  The  ceremonies,  which 


A  Summer  Hunt.  271 

comprised  the  consecration  of  the  buffalo  staves  and 
the  buffalo  dance,  were  about  to  begin.  The  great 
dirt  lodge  was  crowded.  I  pushed  my  way  through 
the  throng  of  women  and  boys,  who  made  up  the 
outer  circle  of  spectators,  and  soon  found  myself 
among  the  men,  who  made  way  for  me,  until  I 
reached  a  position  from  which  I  could  see  all  that 
was  going  on  within  the  circle  about  which  they 
stood. 

For  several  days  the  priests  and  the  doctors  had 
been  preparing  for  this  solemn  religious  ceremonial. 
They  had  fasted  long;  earnest  prayers  had  been 
made  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  and  sacrifices  had  been  offered. 
Now  the  twelve  buffalo  skulls  had  been  arranged  on 
the  ground  in  a  half-circle,  and  near  them  stood  the 
chiefs  and  doctors,  reverently  holding  in  their  hands 
the  buffalo  staves  and  sacred  bows  and  arrows,  and 
other  implements  of  the  chase.  For  a  little  while 
they  stood  silent,  with  bowed  heads,  but  presently 
one  and  then  another  began  to  murmur  their  peti 
tions  to  A-ti-us  Ti-ra'-wa,  the  Spirit  Father,  At 
first  their  voices  were  low  and  mumbling,  but  gradu 
ally  they  became  more  earnest  and  lifted  their  eyes 
toward  heaven.  It  was  impossible  to  distinguish 
what  each  one  said,  but  now  and  then  disjointed 


272  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

sentences  reached  me.  u  Father,  you  are  the  Ruler 
—We  are  poor — Take  pity  on  us — Send  us  plenty  of 
buffalo,  plenty  of  fat  cows — Father,  we  are  you) 
children — help  the  people — send  us  plenty  of  meat, 
so  that  we  may  be  strong,  and  our  bodies  may  in 
crease  and  our  flesh  grow  hard — Father,  you  see  us, 
listen."  As  they  prayed  they  moved  their  hands 
backward  and  forward  over  the  implements  which 
they  held,  and  at  length  reverently  deposited  them 
on  the  ground  within  the  line  of  buffalo  skulls,  and 
then  stepped  back,  still  continuing  their  prayers. 

It  was  a  touching  sight  to  witness  these  men  call 
ing  upon  their  God  for  help.  All  of  them  had  passed 
middle  life,  and  some  were  gray-haired,  blind  and 
tottering;  but  they  prayed  with  a  fervor  and  earnest 
ness  that  compelled  respect.  They  threw  their  souls 
into  their  prayers,  and  as  a  son  might  entreat  his 
earthly  father  for  some  great  gift,  so  they  plead  with 
Ti-ra'-wa.  Their  bodies  quivered  with  emotion,  and 
great  drops  of  sweat  stood  upon  their  brows.  They 
were  thoroughly  sincere. 

After  the  last  of  the  articles  had  been  placed  upon 
the  ground,  their  voices  grew  lower  and  at  length 
died  away.  A  moment  later  a  drum  sounded,  and  a 
dozen  or  twenty  young  warriors  sprang  into  the  cir- 


A  Summer  Hunt.  273 

cle  and  began  the  buffalo  dance.  This  was  kept  up 
without  intermission  for  three  days,  and  as  soon  as 
it  was  over,  the  tribe  moved  out  of  the  village  on  the 
hunt. 

From  the  village  on  the  Loup,  we  traveled  south 
ward;  for  in  those  days  the  region  between  the 
Platte  and  the  Smoky  rivers  swarmed  with  buffalo. 
With  the  Pawnees  were  a  few  Poncas,  Omahas  and 
Otoes,  so  that  there  were  about  four  thousand 
Indians  in  the  camp.  It  was  the  summer  hunt  of 
the  tribe.  Twice  each  year  the  agent  permitted 
them  to  visit  the  buffalo  range.  The  meat  which 
they  killed  and  dried  on  these  hunts,  the  corn  and 
squashes  which  they  grew  on  their  farms,  and  the  small 
annuities  received  from  the  Government,  were  all 
they  had  to  subsist  on  from  season  to  season.  Thus 
the  occasion  was  one  of  importance  to  the  Indians. 
Perhaps  only  the  older  heads  among  them  fully 
appreciated  its  economic  interest;  but  for  all  it  was 
a  holiday  time;  a  temporary  escape  from  confine 
ment.  Life  on  the  reservation  was  monotonous. 
There  was  nothing  to  do  except  to  sit  in  the  sun  and 
smoke,  and  tell  stories  of  the  former  glories  of  the 
nation;  of  successful  fights  with  the  Sioux  and 
Cheyennes,  and  of  horse  stealing  expeditions,  from 


274  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

which  the  heroes  had  returned  with  great  herds  of 
ponies  and  much  glory.  Now,  for  a  little  while, 
they  returned  to  the  old  free  life  of  earlier  years, 
when  the  land  had  been  all  their  own,  and  they  had 
wandered  at  will  over  the  broad  expanse  of  the  roll 
ing  prairie.  Now,  for  a  time,  it  was  as  it  had  been 
before  the  cornfields  of  the  white  man  had  begun  to 
dot  their  river  bottoms,  before  the  sound  of  his  rifle 
had  made  wild  their  game,  before  the  locomotive's 
whistle  had  shrieked  through  the  still,  hot  summer 
air,  Half  a  year's  provision  was  now  to  be  secured. 
The  comfort — almost  the  existence — of  the  tribe  for 
the  next  six  months  depended  on  the  accumulation 
of  an  abundant  supply  of  dried  buffalo  meat,  and  no 
precaution  was  omitted  to  make  the  hunt  successful. 
It  would  not  do  to  permit  each  individual  to  hunt 
independently.  Indiscriminate  buffalo  running  by 
six  or  eight  hundred  men  scattered  over  the  prairie, 
each  one  working  for  himself  alone,  would  result  in 
the  killing  of  some  few  buffalo,  but  would  terrify  and 
drive  away  all  the  others  in  the  neighborhood.  This 
matter  was  too  important  to  be  trusted  to  chance. 
The  hunting  was  systematized. 

The  government  of  the  hunt  was  intrusted  to  the 
Pawnee  soldiers.     These  were  twenty-four  warriors 


A  Summer  Hunt.  275 

of  mature  age,  not  so  old  as  to  be  unfitted  for  active 
work,  yet  with  the  fires  of  early  youth  somewhat 
tempered  by  years  of  experience;  men  whose  judg 
ment  and  discretion  could  at  all  times  be  relied  on. 
These  soldiers  acted  under  the  chiefs,  but  the  practi 
cal  guidance  of  the  hunt  was  wholly  in  their  hands. 
They  determined  the  direction  and  length  of  each 
day's  march,  and  the  spot  for  camping.  They 
selected  the  young  men  who  should  act  as  scouts, 
and  arranged  all  the  details  of  the  approach  and  the 
charge  when  a  herd  of  buffalo  was  discovered  large 
enough  to  call  for  a  general  surround.  All  the  men 
were  under  their  control,  and  amenable  to  their  dis 
cipline.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  exercise  their 
authority,  nor  to  severely  punish  any  one  who  com 
mitted  an  act  by  which  the  success  of  the  hunt  might 
be  imperilled. 

The  scouts  sent  out  by  the  soldiers  were  chosen 
from  among  the  younger  men.  They  acted  merely 
as  spies,  their  office  was  to  find  the  buffalo.  They 
moved  rapidly  along,  far  in  advance  of  the  marching 
column,  and  from  the  tops  of  the  highest  hills  care 
fully  scanned  the  country  before  them  in  search  of 
buffalo.  If  a  herd  was  discerned,  they  were  not  to 
show  themselves,  nor  in  any  way  to  alarm  it.  Having 


276  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

found  the  game,  their  duty  was  to  observe  its  move 
ment,  learn  where  it  was  likely  to  be  for  the  next  few 
hours,  and  then  to  report  as  quickly  as  possible  to 
the  camp.  The  soldiers  then  determined  what 
action  should  be  taken.  If  the  news  was  received 
late  in  the  day,  and  the  buffalo  were  at  some  dis 
tance,  the  camp  would  probably  be  moved  as  near  as 
practicable  to  where  the  herd  was  feeding,  and  the 
chase  would  take  place  in  the  early  morning.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  scouts  found  the  herd  in  the 
morning,  the  men  would  start  off  at  once  for  the 
surround,  leaving  the  women  to  follow,  and  make 
camp  as  near  as  possible  to  where  the  dead  buffalo 
lay. 

Day  after  day  we  traveled  southward,  crossing  the 
Platte  River,  and  then  the  Republican  about  due 
south  of  the  present  flourishing  town  of  Kearney. 
South  of  the  Platte  a  few  scattering  buffalo  were 
found,  but  no  large  herds  had  been  met  with — 
nothing  that  called  for  a  surround.  At  length  we 
camped  one  night  on  the  Beaver,  a  small  affluent  of 
the  Republican,  emptying  into  it  from  the  south. 

With  the  gray  dawn  of  morning,  the  camp,  as  usual, 
is  astir.  By  the  time  our  little  party  have  turned 
out  of  our  blankets,  some  of  the  Indians  have  already 


A  Summer  Hunt.  277 

finished  eating,  and  are  catching  up  their  horses  and 
preparing  to  ride  off  over  the  bluffs,  leaving  the 
squaws  to  take  down  the  lodges,  pack  the  ponies, 
and  pursue  the  designated  line  of  march.  Before 
we  are  ready  to  "pull  out,"  most  of  the  ponies  have 
been  packed,  and  a  long,  irregular  line  of  Indians  is 
creeping  across  the  level  valley,  and  beginning  to 
wind  up  the  face  of  the  bluffs.  The  procession 
moves  slowly,  proceeding  at  a  walk.  Most  of  those 
who  remain  with  the  column  are  on  foot,  the  squaws 
leading  the  ponies,  and  many  of  the  men,  wrapped 
in  their  blankets,  and  with  only  their  bows  and 
arrows  on  their  backs,  walking  briskly  over  the  prairie, 
a  little  to  one  side.  These  last  are  the  poorer  In 
dians — those  who  have  but  few  horses.  They  travel 
on  foot,  letting  their  horses  run  without  burdens,  so 
that  they  may  be  fresh  and  strong,  whenever  they 
shall  be  needed  for  running  the  buffalo. 

Side  by  side,  at  the  head  of  the  column,  walk 
eight  men  who  carry  the  buffalo  staves.  These  are 
slender  spruce  poles,  like  a  short  lodge-pole,  wrapped 
with  blue  and  red  cloth,  and  elaborately  ornamented 
with  bead  work,  and  with  the  feathers  of  hawks,  and 
of  the  war  eagle.  These  sticks  are  carried  by  men 
selected  by  the  chiefs  and  doctors  in  private  council, 


278  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

and  are  religiously  guarded.  Upon  the  care  of  these 
emblems,  and  the  respect  paid  to  them,  depends,  in 
a  great  measure,  the  success  of  the  hunt.  While 
borne  before  the  moving  column,  no  one  is  permitted 
to  cross  the  line  of  march  in  front  of  them. 

Close  behind  the  staff  bearers  follow  a  number  of 
the  principal  men  of  the  tribe;  the  head  chief,  old 
Pi'ta  Le-shar,  and  a  dozen  or  fifteen  sub-chiefs  or 
head  men,  all  mounted  on  superb  horses.  Behind 
them  comes  the  camp  at  large,  a  fantastically 
mingled  multitude,  marching  without  any  appear 
ance  of  order.  Here  most  of  the  individuals  are 
women,  young  girls  and  children,  for  the  men  who 
accompany  the  camp  usually  march  singly,  or  by 
twos  and  threes,  a  little  apart  from  the  mob.  Most 
of  those  rich  enough  in  horses  to  be  able  to  ride  at. 
all  times,  are  scattered  over  the  prairie  for  miles  in 
every  direction,  picking  up  the  small  bands  of  buf 
falo,  which  have  been  passed  by  the  scouts  as  not 
large  enough  to  call  for  a  general  surround.  The 
hunters  are  careful,  however,  not  to  follow  too  close 
upon  the  advance  line,  whose  movements  they  can 
readily  observe  upon  the  bare  bluffs  far  ahead  of 
them. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing,  the  Pawnees 


A  Summer  Hunt.  279 

had  no  wagons,  all  their  possessions  being  trans 
ported  on  pack  horses.  The  Indian  pack  pony  is 
apt  to  be  old  and  sedate,  requiring  no  special 
guidance  nor  control.  A  strip  of  rawhide,  knotted 
about  the  lower  jaw,  serves  as  a  bridle,  and  is  either 
tied  up  to  the  saddle  or  held  in  the  rider's  hand.  In 
packing  the  animals  a  bundle  of  lodge-poles  is  tied 
on  either  side  of  the  saddle,  one  end  projecting  for 
ward  toward  the  horse's  head,  the  other  dragging  on 
the  ground  behind.  This  is  the  travois.  Cross  poles 
are  often  tied  between  these  two  dragging  bundles, 
and  on  these  are  carried  packages  of  meat  and  robes. 
Often,  too,  on  a  robe  stretched  between  them,  a  sick 
or  wounded  Indian,  unable  to  ride,  is  transported. 
The  lodge-poles  having  been  fastened  to  the  saddle, 
the  lodge  is  folded  up  and  placed  on  it  between 
them,  and  blankets,  robes,  and  other  articles  are 
piled  on  top  of  this,  until  the  horse  has  on  its  back 
what  appears  to  be  about  as  much  as  it  can  carry. 
The  pack  is  then  lashed  firmly  in  position,  and  pots, 
buckets  and  other  utensils  are  tied  about  it  wherever 
there  is  room. 

On  top  of  the  load  so  arranged  one  or  two  women, 
or  three  or  four  children,  clamber  and  settle  them 
selves  comfortably  there,  and  the  old  horse  is  turned 


280  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

loose.  Each  rider  carries  in  her  hand  a  whip,  with 
which  she  strikes  the  horse  at  every  step,  not  cruelly 
at  all,  but  just  from  force  of  habit.  If  the  pack  is 
low,  so  that  her  feet  reach  down  to  the  animal's  sides, 
she  keeps  up  also  a  constant  drumming  on  his  ribs 
with  her  heels.  The  old  horse  pays  not  the  slightest 
attention  to  any  of  these  demonstrations  of  impa 
tience,  but  plods  steadily  along  at  a  quiet  walk,  his 
eyes  half  closed  and  his  ears  nodding  at  each  step. 
If  the  riders  are  women,  each  one  holds  a  child  or 
two  in  her  arms,  or  on  her  back,  or  perhaps  the  baby 
board  is  hung  over  the  end  of  a  lodge-pole,  and 
swings  free.  If  the  living  load  consists  of  children, 
they  have  in  their  arms  a  lot  of  puppies;  for  pup 
pies  occupy  with  relation  to  the  small  Indian  girls 
the  place  which  dolls  hold  among  the  white  children. 
Many  of  the  pack  animals  are  mares  with  young 
colts,  and  these  last,  instead  of  following  quietly  at 
their  mothers'  heels,  range  here  and  there,  some 
times  before  and  sometimes  behind,  their  dams. 
They  are  thus  constantly  getting  lost  in  the  crowd, 
and  then  they  charge  backward  and  forward  in  wild 
affright,  neighing  shrilly,  until  they  have  again  found 
their  proper  place  in  the  line  of  march.  Many  of 
the  yearling  colts  have  very  small  and  light  packs 


A  Summer  Hunt.  281 

tied  on  their  backs,  while  the  two-year-olds  are  often 
ridden  by  the  tiniest  of  Indian  boys,  who  are  now 
giving  them  their  first  lesson  in  weight-carrying. 
Loose  horses  of  all  ages  roam  about  at  will,  and  their 
continual  cries  mingle  with  the  barking  of  dogs,  the 
calls  of  women  and  the  yells  of  boys,  and  make  an 
unceasing  noise. 

The  boys  are  boiling  over  with  animal  spirits,  and, 
like  their  civilized  brothers  of  the  same  age,  are  con 
tinually  running  about,  chasing  each  other,  wrestling, 
shooting  arrows  and  playing  games,  of  which  the 
familiar  stick  game  seems  the  favorite. 

Whenever  the  column  draws  near  any  cover, 
which  may  shelter  game,  such  as  a  few  bushes  in  a 
ravine,  or  the  fringe  of  low  willows  along  some  little 
watercourse,  the  younger  men  and  boys  scatter  out 
and  surround  it.  They  beat  it  in  the  most  thorough 
manner,  and  any  game  which  it  contains  is  driven 
out  on  the  prairie,  surrounded  and  killed.  The  ap 
pearance  even  of  a  jackass  rabbit  throws  the  boys 
into  a  fever  of  excitement,  and  causes  them  to  shriek 
and  yell  as  if  in  a  frenzy. 

All  the  morning  I  rode  with  the  Indians,  either  at 
the  head  of  the  column,  chatting  as  best  I  could  with 
Pi'ta  Le-shar  and  other  chiefs,  or  falling  back  and 


282  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

riding  among  the  women  and  children,  whom  I  never 
tired  of  watching.  Frequently  during  the  day  I  saw 
at  a  distance,  on  the  prairie,  small  bunches  of  buffalo 
in  full  flight,  hotly  pursued  by  dark-skinned  riders, 
and  occasionally  two  or  three  men  would  ride  up  to 
the  marching  columns  with  heavy  loads  of  freshly- 
killed  meat.  The  quick-heaving,  wet  flanks  of  the 
ponies  told  a  story  of  sharp,  rapid  chases,  and  their 
tossing  heads  and  eager,  excited  looks  showed  how 
much  interest  they  took  in  the  hunt. 

The  report  of  firearms  was  seldom  heard.  Most 
of  the  Indians  hunted  with  the  primitive  weapon  of 
their  forefathers — the  bow  and  arrow.  For  buffalo 
running  an  arrow  is  nearly  as  effective  as  lead.  The 
power  of  the  bow  in  expert  hands  is  tremendous. 
Riding  within  half  a  dozen  yards  of  the  victim's  side, 
the  practiced  bowman  will  drive  the  dart  so  far 
through  the  body  of  the  buffalo  that  its  shaft 
may  project  a  foot  or  more  from  the  opposite  side — 
sometimes  indeed  may  pass  quite  through.  Besides, 
the  bow  can  be  used  very  rapidly  and  accurately.  I 
have  seen  an  Indian  take  a  sheaf  of  six  arrows  in  his 
hand,  and  discharge  them  at  a  mark  more  rapidly 
and  with  more  certainty  of  hitting  his  target  than  I 
could  fire  the  six  barrels  of  a  revolver. 


A  Summer  Hunt.  283 

It  was  nearly  noon,  and  I  was  riding  along  at  the 
head  of  the  column.  I  had  but  one  horse,  and  did 
not  care  to  wear  him  out  by  chasing  around  over  the 
prairie,  preferring  to  save  him  for  some  great 
effort.  We  were  traveling  along  a  smooth  divide  be 
tween  two  sets  of  ravines,  which  ran  off,  one  to  the 
east  and  the  other  to  the  west.  Pi'ta  Le-shar  had 
just  informed  me  by  signs  that  we  should  make  camp 
about  two  miles  further  on,  by  a  stream  whose  course 
we  could  trace  from  where  we  then  were.  Suddenly, 
without  the  slightest  warning,  the  huge  dark  bodies 
of  half  a  dozen  buffalo  sprang  into  view,  rising  out 
of  a  ravine  on  our  left  not  a  hundred  yards  distant. 
When  they  saw  the  multitude  before  them,  they 
stopped  and  stared  at  us. 

They  were  too  close  for  me  to  resist  the  tempta 
tion  to  pursue.  As  I  lifted  the  reins  from  my  pony's 
neck  and  bent  forward,  the  little  animal  sprang  into 
a  sharp  gallop  toward  the  game,  and  as  he  did  so  I 
saw  half  a  dozen  Indians  shoot  out  from  the  column 
and  follow  me.  The  buffalo  wheeled,  and  in  an  in 
stant  were  out  of  sight,  but  when  I  reached  the  edge 
of  the  bank  down  which  they  had  plunged,  I  could 
see  through  the  cloud  of  dust,  which  they  left  behind 
them,  their  uncouth  forms  dashing  down  the  ravine. 


284  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

My  nimble  pony,  as  eager  for  the  race  as  his  rider, 
hurled  himself  down  the  steep  pitch,  and  sped  along 
the  narrow  broken  bed  of  the  gully.  I  could  feel 
that  sometimes  he  would  lengthen  his  stride  to  leap 
wide  ditches,  where  the  water  from  some  side  ravine 
had  cut  away  the  ground,  but  I  never  knew  of  these 
until  they  were  passed.  My  eyes  were  fixed  on  the 
fleeing  herd;  my  ears  were  intent  on  the  pursuing 
horsemen.  Close  behind  me  I  could  hear  the  quick 
pounding  of  many  hoofs,  and  could  feel  that  one  of 
the  horses,  nearer  than  the  rest,  was  steadily  draw 
ing  up  to  me — but  I  was  gaining  on  the  buffalo.  Al 
ready  the  confused  rumble  of  their  hoof -beats  almost 
drowned  those  of  the  horses  behind  me,  and  the  air 
was  full  of  the  dust  and  small  pebbles  thrown  up  by 
their  hurrying  feet.  But  they  were  still  ahead  of  me, 
and  the  gulch  was  so  narrow  that  I  could  not  shoot. 
The  leading  horseman  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  and 
was  now  almost  at  my  side.  I  could  see  the  lean 
head  and  long,  slim  neck  of  his  pony  under  my  right 
arm,  and  could  hear  the  rider  speak  to  his  horse  and 
urge  him  forward  in  the  race.  My  horse  did  his  best, 
but  the  other  had  the  most  speed.  He  shot  by  me, 
and  a  moment  later  was  alongside  the  last  buffalo. 
As  he  passed  me  the  young  Indian  made  a  laugh- 


A  Summer  Hunt.  285 

ing  gesture  of  triumph,  slipped  an  arrow  on  his  bow 
string,  and  drew  it  to  its  head;  but  just  as  he  was 
about  to  let  it  fly,  his  horse,  which  was  but  a  colt, 
took  fright  at  the  huge  animal  which  it  had  over 
taken,  and  shied  violently  to  the  right,  almost  un 
seating  its  rider.  At  the  same  moment  the  buffalo 
swerved  a  little  to  the  left,  and  thus  lost  a  few  feet. 
Truly,  the  race  is  not  always  to  the  swift.  As  I 
passed  the  Indian,  I  could  not  restrain  a  little  whoop 
of  satisfaction,  and  then  swinging  my  rifle  around, 
I  fired.  The  buffalo  fell  in  its  stride,  tossing  up  a 
mighty  cloud  of  the  soft  yellow  earth,  and  my  pony 
ran  by  him  fifty  yards  before  he  could  be  checked. 
Then  I  turned  and  rode  back  to  look  at  the  game. 
The  other  Indians  had  passed  me  like  a  whirlwind, 
and,  close  at  the  heels  of  the  herd,  had  swept  around 
a  point  of  bluff  and  out  of  sight.  Only  my  rival 
remained,  and  he  was  excitedly  arguing  with  his 
horse.  The  logic  of  a  whip-handle,  applied  with 
vigor  about  the  creature's  ears,  convinced  it  that  it 
must  approach  the  dead  buffalo;  and  then  the  rider 
dismounting,  and  passing  his  lariat  about  the  animal's 
horns,  drew  the  pony's  head  to  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  terrifying  mass,  and  fastened  the  rope.  When 
he  had  accomplished  this,  he  grinned  pleasantly  at 


286  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

me,  and  I  responded  in  kind,  and  in  dumb  show 
transferred  to  him  all  my  right  and  title  in  the  dead 
buffalo.  At  this  he  smiled  still  more  cheerfully,  and 
set  to  work  "butchering." 

The  animal  was  a  superb  specimen,  just  entering 
his  prime,  and  was  fat,  round  and  sleek.  His  horns 
were  symmetrically  curved  and  beautifully  polished. 
Not  a  scratch  marred  their  shining  surfaces,  nor  a 
splinter  was  frayed  from  their  sharp  points.  The 
sweeping  black  beard  was  long  and  full,  and  the 
thick  curls  upon  his  hump  and  massive  shoulders 
were  soft  and  deep,  while  the  short  hair  of  his  sides 
and  hips  was  smooth  as  the  coat  of  a  horse.  His 
size  was  enormous.  It  seemed  that  he  would  have 
turned  the  scale  at  quite  two  thousand  pounds.  Cer 
tainly  his  weight  exceeded  that  of  both  the  fifteen- 
hand  ponies  that  stood  beside  him. 

A  few  moments  later,  I  was  again  in  the  saddle, 
and  riding  on  along  the  course  taken  by  the  remain 
ing  buffalo,  for  I  was  anxious  to  see  what  had 
become  of  them.  On  rounding  the  point  of  the 
bluff,  where  I  had  last  seen  them,  my  curiosity  was 
satisfied.  The  valley  here  widened  out  until  it  was 
perhaps  sixty  yards  across,  and  on  either  side  rose 
vertical  bluffs  of  yellow  chalk  to  a  height  of  forty 


A  Summer  Hunt.  287 

feet.  Scattered  about  over  the  little  plain,  lay  half  a 
dozen  buffalo,  over  each  of  which  bent  one  or  two 
Indians  busily  plying  the  knife.  At  the  foot  of  the 
bluff  at  one  side  of  the  valley  stood  four  or  five 
others,  looking  at  a  cow,  perched  on  a  narrow  shelf 
ten  feet  below  the  top.  I  shall  never  understand  how 
that  animal  reached  the  position  it  occupied.  There 
was  evidently  noway  of  getting  to  it  except  by  jump 
ing  up  from  below,  which  was  obviously  impossible — 
or  down  from  above,  which  seemed  out  of  the  ques 
tion.  The  shelf  was  so  short  that  the  animal  could 
move  neither  backward  nor  forward,  and  was  just  wide 
enough  for  it  to  stand  on.  As  I  rode  up  and  joined 
the  little  group  below  it,  the  head  and  shoulders  of  a 
middle-aged  Indian  appeared  over  the  top  of  the 
bluff,  above  the  cow.  He  lay  down  flat  on  his  breast, 
and  holding  in  both  hands  an  old-fashioned  muzzle- 
loading  pistol,  attempted  to  shoot  the  cow  from 
above,  but  his  old  arm  would  not  go  off.  He 
snapped  it  half  a  dozen  times,  and  then,  discouraged, 
called  ouj;  something  to  us  below.  One  of  the  boys 
turned  to  me,  and  said  very  slowly  and  distinctly, 
"He  say,  you  shoot."  I  therefore  dismounted,  and 
fired  at  the  cow,  which  responded  by  shaking  her 
head  angrily,  and  whisking  her  short  tail.  Another 


288  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

call  came  from  the  old  fellow  on  top  of  the  bluff,  and 
the  young  man  said  to  me,  "  He  say,  you  hit  her; 
right  spot."  A  moment  later,  the  cow  bent  forward 
and  fell  on  her  knees,  and  the  Indian  above  dropped 
down  on  her  back. 

Turning  my  horse's  head  in  the  direction  from 
which  I  had  come,  I  rode  up  through  a  side  ravine 
on  to  the  high  prairie.  A  mile  away  I  could  see  the 
column  of  marching  Indians,  plodding  along  at  their 
old  slow  pace.  Here  and  there,  over  the  rolling 
hills,  dark  forms  were  visible,  some  of  them  in  rapid 
motion,  others  apparently  stationary.  Often  it  was 
impossible  to  determine  whether  these  figures 
were  horsemen  or  buffalo,  but  sometimes,  far  away, 
I  could  see  a  mimic  chase  in  which  pursuer  and  pur 
sued  appeared  no  larger  than  ants. 

As  I  came  up  with  the  Indians,  they  were  just  de 
scending  into  the  stream  bottom,  where  camp  was  to 
be  made.  The  small  boys  had,  as  usual,  dispersed 
themselves  over  the  valley  and  among  the  under 
brush.  Many  of  the  squaws,  leaving  the  ponies  and 
packs  to  their  sister-wives  or  children,  were  hurrying 
up  or  down  the  stream  to  gather  wood.  Already 
the  leading  ponies  were  b*eing  relieved  of  their  loads. 
Suddenly,  from  the  mouth  of  a  little  ravine  coming 


A  Summer  Hunt.  289 

down  into  the  stream  bottom,  rose  a  chorus  of  shrill 
yelps  and  shrieks  from  childish  throats,  and  a  gang 
of  wild  turkeys  were  seen,  running  rapidly  through 
the  high  grass  toward  the  hills.  A  moment  later, 
with  a  loud  quit-quit  of  alarm,  they  took  wing,  but  not 
before  several  of  their  number  had  fallen  before  the 
missiles  of  the  boys.  Most  of  them  went  up  or  down 
the  creek,  but  one  inexperienced  bird  took  its  course 
directly  over  our  heads. 

Those  who  have  seen  the  Indian  only  on  dress 
parade,  talk  of  his  stolidity,  impassiveness,  and  his 
marvelous  control  over  his  countenance  and  his 
emotions.  This  demeanor  he  can  and  does  assume, 
and  when  he  is  with  white  men,  or  among  strangers, 
he  is  usually  all  that  he  has  been  pictured;  but  take 
him  by  himself,  and  he  expresses  his  feelings  with  as 
little  restraint  as  a  child.  So  it  was  now.  No  grave 
chief,  nor  battle-scarred  warrior,  nor  mighty  worker  of 
ti-war' -uks-ti  (magic)  was  too  dignified  to  express 
his  interest  at  the  appearance  of  this  great  bird  sail 
ing  laboriously  along,  thirty  or  forty  feet  above  him. 
It  was  as  if  the  turkey  had  flown  over  a  great  com 
pany  of  schoolboys,  and  the  utter  abandonment  of 
the  excited  multitude,  the  entire  absence  of  restraint, 
the  perfect  naturalness  of  the  expression  of  feeling, 


290  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

had  in  them  something  very  delightful  and  infec 
tious.  Every  Indian,  who  held  in  his  hand  anything 
that  was  light  enough  to  throw,  hurled  it  at  the  bird, 
and  a  cloud  of  whips,  sticks,  hatchets,  fleshers,  and 
arrows,  rose  to  meet  it  as  it  passed  along.  One 
missile  knocked  from  its  tail  a  few  long  feathers, 
which  drifted  slowly  down  on  the  heads  of  the 
people.  It  kept  on,  but  before  it  had  passed  beyond 
the  long  line  of  Indians  extending  back  over  the 
plain,  its  strength  became  exhausted,  it  came  to  the 
ground,  and  was  at  once  dispatched  by  those  nearest 
to  it. 

Almost  before  the  turkey's  fate  had  been  decided, 
many  of  the  lodges  had  been  pitched,  and  now  the 
slender  gray  columns  from  a  hundred  camp-fires 
began  to  climb  up  through  the  still  air  toward  the 
blue  above.  The  women  were  hard  at  work  cook 
ing,  or  spreading  out  freshly  killed  robes,  or  putting 
up  drying  scaffolds,  while  the  men  lounged  in  the 
shade  and  smoked  or  chatted.  Our  wagon  was 
halted  at  one  side  of  the  camp,  and  the  tired  horses 
and  mules  stripped  of  saddles  and  harness,  and 
picketed  near  at  hand.  The  Indian  pack  ponies 
were  collected  and  driven  off  on  the  upland  in 
charge  of  several  boys. 


A  Summer  Hunt.  291 

We  had  invitations  to  eat  meat  at  several  lodges 
that  day.  Usually  we  did  not  accept  these  freely 
proffered  hospitalities,  because  we  had  no  means  of 
returning  them,  but  one  of  these  invitations  came 
from  a  particular  friend,  and  to-day  we  broke 
through  our  rule.  We  feasted  on  roast  ribs,  ka'wts, 
and  dried  meat,  and  really  had  a  delightful  time. 
It  was  about  three  o'clock  when  we  finished  the 
meal,  and  we  were  lounging  about  the  lodge,  smok 
ing  and  chatting,  in  lazy  after-dinner  fashion,  when 
we  were  startled  by  a  series  of  yells  and  shouts, 
among  which  I  distinguished  the  words  "Cha'-ra- 
rat  wa-ta' — The  Sioux  are  coming."  Our  Indian 
companions  snatched  up  their  arms,  and  rushed  out 
of  the  lodge,  and  we  were  not  slow  in  following. 
**  Suks-e-kitta-wit  wis-kilts — Get  on  your  horses 
quick,"  shouted  our  host.  The  camp  was  in  a  state 
of  wild  excitement.  Naked  men  were  running  to 
their  horses,  and  jerking  their  lariats  from  the  picket 
pins,  sprang  on  their  backs  and  rode  hard  for  the 
hills;  while  women  and  boys  rushed  about,  catching 
horses,  and  bringing  them  in  among  the  lodges, 
where  they  were  securely  fastened.  Less  than  a 
mile  away,  we  saw  the  horse  herd  dashing  along  at 
top  speed,  and  a  little  to  one  side  of  it  a  horseman 


292  Notes  on  the  Pawnee*. 

riding  in  circles,  and  waving  his  blanket  before  him. 
It  was  evident  that  the  Sioux  were  trying  to  run  off 
the  herd.  We  ran  as  hard  as  we  could  to  the  wagon, 
caught  up  rifles  and  cartridge  belts,  and  buckling 
on  the  latter  as  we  ran,  kept  on  to  the  horses.  There 
was  no  time  to  saddle  up.  We  looped  the  ropes 
around  their  jaws,  sprang  on  their  naked  backs,  and 
were  off.  As  we  rode  up  on  the  prairie,  the  herd  of 
ponies  thundered  by,  and  swept  down  the  bluffs  to 
the  camp.  The  rolling  expanse  before  us  was  dotted 
with  Indians,  each  one  urging  forward  his  horse  to 
its  utmost  speed.  Many  of  them  were  already  a 
long  way  in  advance,  and  were  passing  over  the 
furthest  high  bluff,  which  seemed  to  rise  up  and 
meet  the  sky.  Hard  as  we  might  push  our  ponies, 
there  was  little  hope  that  we  would  be  in  time  to 
have  any  hand  in  the  encounter — if  one  took  place 
— between  the  Pawnees  and  their  hereditary  foes. 

We  kept  on  until  we  reached  the  crest  of  the  high 
bluff.  From  here  we  could  see  far  off  over  the  plain, 
dozens  of  black  dots  strung  out  after  one  another. 
Nearer  at  hand,  other  Indians,  whose  steeds,  like 
ours,  had  proved  too  slow  for  the  swift  pursuit,  were 
riding  back  toward  us,  showing  in  their  faces  the 
disappointment  which  they  felt  at  being  left  behind. 


A  Slimmer  Hunt.  293 

With  these  we  turned  about,  and  rode  toward  the 
camp.  Among  them  was  one  of  the  herd  boys,  for 
the  moment  a  hero,  who  had  to  repeat  his  story 
again  and  again.  He  had  been  sitting  on  top  of  a 
hill,  not  far  from  the  horses,  when  he  discovered 
several  Sioux  stealing  toward  them  through  a  ravine. 
Signaling  his  comrades,  they  succeeded  in  getting 
the  herd  in  motion  before  the  robbers  had  ap 
proached  very  close  to  them.  Eight  of  the  slowest 
horses  had  dropped  behind  during  the  flight,  and 
had  no  doubt  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

One  by  one,  the  Indians  came  straggling  back  to 
camp  during  the  afternoon  and  evening,  but  it  was 
not  until  late  that  night  that  the  main  body  of  the 
pursuers  came  in.  They  had  ten  extra  horses,  two 
of  which  they  had  taken  in  turn  from  the  Sioux. 
They  had  no  scalps,  however,  for  they  had  been  un 
able  to  overtake  the  enemy. 

Long  we  sat  that  night  by  the  fire  in  Pi'ta  Le-shar's 
lodge,  talking  over  the  exciting  event  of  the  after 
noon;  and  as  we  rose  to  go  to  our  wagons,  and  said 
good  night,  the  old  man,  who  had  been  silently  gaz 
ing  into  the  coals  for  some  time,  looked  up  at  me 
and  smiled,  saying,  "  Wa-ti-hes  ti-kdt-it  ti-ra-hah — • 
To-morrow  we  will  kill  buffalo." 


294  Notes  on  tJie  Pawnees. 

When  we  turned  out  of  our  blankets  the  next 
morning,  a  heavy  mist  hung  over  the  prairie.  This 
was  unfortunate,  for  so  long  as  the  fog  lasted  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  scouts  to  see  far  enough 
to  discover  the  buffalo.  The  first  few  hours  of  the 
march  were  uneventful.  Once  or  twice  the  huge 
bodies  of  a  small  band  of  buffalo  loomed  up  through 
the  white  mist  about  us,  their  size  and  shape  greatly 
exaggerated  and  distorted  by  its  deceptive  effect. 
As  the  sun  climbed  toward  the  zenith,  the  air  grew 
brighter,  and  by  mid-day  the  fog  had  risen  from  the 
ground,  and  though  still  clinging  in  white  cottony 
wreaths  about  the  tops  of  the  higher  bluffs  near  us, 
we  now  could  see  for  quite  a  long  distance  over  the 
prairie.  A  little  later  the  sun  burst  forth,  and  the 
sky  became  clear.  Soon  after  noon  we  went  into 
camp. 

We  had  but  just  begun  our  dinner,  when  a  runner 
was  seen  coming  at  full  gallop  down  the  bluffs.  It 
was  one  of  the  scouts.  He  dashed  through  the  vil 
lage,  and  did  not  check  his  pony's  speed  until  he 
1  had  reached  old  Pi'ta  Le-shars  lodge.  Here  he 
stopped,  and  bending  from  his  horse  spoke  a  few 
words  very  earnestly,  gesticulating  and  pointing 
back  over  the  prairie  in  the  direction  whence  he  had 


A  Summer  Hunt.  295 

come.  As  he  rode  on  and  past  us,  he  called  out, 
"  Te-co 'di '  tut-tu-ta-rik  ti-ra-hah — I  saw  many  buffalo," 
and  we  shouted  back  to  him,  "  Tu-ra-heh — It  is  good." 

At  once  the  women  began  to  take  down  the  lodges 
and  pack  the  ponies.  Buffalo  had  been  discovered 
about  fifteen  miles  to  the  southwest,  and  orders  had 
been  issued  to  move  the  village  to  the  creek  on 
which  they  were  feeding,  while  the  men  should  go  on 
at  once  and  make  the  surround.  Our  teamster,  to 
whom  the  Indians  had  already,  from  his  occupation, 
given  the  name  "Jackass  Chief,"  was  directed  to 
move  with  the  camp;  and  leaving  everything  save 
guns  and  ammunition  belts  in  the  wagon,  we  joined 
the  crowd  of  men  who  were  riding  out  of  the  village. 

The  scene  that  we  now  beheld  was  such  as  might 
have  been  witnessed  here  a  hundred  years  ago.  It 
is  one  that  can  never  be  seen  again.  Here  were 
eight  hundred  warriors,  stark  naked,  and  mounted 
on  naked  animals.  A  strip  of  rawhide,  or  a 
lariat,  knotted  about  the  lower  jaw,  was  all  their 
horses'  furniture.  Among  all  these  men  there  was 
not  a  gun  nor  a  pistol,  nor  any  indication  that  they 
had  ever  met  with  the  white  men.  For  the  moment 
they  had  put  aside  whatever  they  had  learned  of 
civilization.  Their  bows  and  arrows  they  held  in 


296  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

their  hands.  Armed  with  these  ancestral  weapons, 
they  had  become  once  more  the  simple  children  of 
the  plains,  about  to  slay  the  wild  cattle  that  Ti-ra'wa 
had  given  them  for  food.  Here  was  barbarism  pure 
and  simple.  Here  was  nature. 

A  brief  halt  was  made  on  the  upper  prairie,  until 
all  the  riders  had  come  up,  and  then,  at  a  moderate 
gallop,  we  set  off.  A  few  yards  in  advance  rode  the 
twenty-four  soldiers,  at  first  curbing  in  their  spirited 
little  steeds,  till  the  horses'  chins  almost  touched 
their  chests,  and  occasionally,  by  a  simple  motion  of 
the  hand,  waving  back  some  impetuous  boy,  who 
pressed  too  close  upon  them.  Many  of  the  Indians 
led  a  spare  horse,  still  riding  the  one  that  had  car 
ried  them  through  the  day.  Often  two  men  would 
be  seen  mounted  on  the  same  animal,  the  one  behind 
having  the  lariats  of  two  led  horses  wound  about  his 
arm.  Here  and  there  a  man,  with  his  arm  over  the 
horse's  neck,  would  run  along  on  foot  by  the  side  of 
the  animal  which  was  to  serve  him  in  the  charge. 

As  we  proceeded,  the  pace  became  gradually  a 
little  more  rapid.  The  horses  went  along  easily  and 
without  effort.  Each  naked  Indian  seemed  a  part  of 
his  steed,  and  rose  and  fell  with  it  in  the  rhythmic 
swing  of  its  stride.  The  plain  was  peopled  with  Cen- 


A  Summer  Hunt.  297 

taurs.  Out  over  each  horse's  croup  floated  the  long 
black  hair  of  his  rider,  spread  out  on  the  wings  of 
the  breeze.  Gradually  the  slow  gallop  became  a  fast 
one.  The  flanks  of  the  horses  showed  here  and  there 
patches  of  wet,  which  glistened  in  the  slanting  rays 
of  the  westering  sun.  Eight,  ten,  a  dozen  miles  had 
been  left  behind  us,  and  we  were  approaching  the 
top  of  a  high  bluff,  when  the  signal  was  given  to  halt. 
In  a  moment  every  man  was  off  his  horse,  but  not  a 
pony  of  them  all  showed  any  sign  of  distress,  nor 
gave  any  evidence  of  the  work  he  had  done,  except 
by  his  wet  flanks  and  his  slightly  accelerated  breath 
ing.  Two  or  three  of  the  soldiers  rode  up  nearly  to 
the  top  of  the  hill,  dismounted  and  then  peered  over, 
and  a  moment  later,  at  another  signal,  all  mounted 
and  the  swift  gallop  began  again.  Over  the  ridge 
we  passed,  down  the  smooth  slope,  and  across  a  wide 
level  plain,  where  the  prairie  dogs  and  the  owls  and 
the  rattlesnakes  had  their  home.  Through  the  dog 
town  we  hurried  on  thundering  hoofs,  no  doubt  amaz 
ing  the  dogs,  and  perhaps  even  arousing  some  slight 
interest  in  the  sluggish,  stupid  snakes.  Bad  places 
these  to  ride  through  at  such  a  pace,  for  a  little  care 
lessness  on  your  horse's  part  might  cost  him  a  broken 
leg  and  you  an  ugly  tumble.  But  no  one  took  much 


298  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

thought  of  dog  town  or  horse  or  possible  accident, 
for  the  minds  of  all  were  upon  the  next  high  ridge, 
behind  which  we  felt  sure  that  the  buffalo  would  be 
found. 

And  so  it  proved.  Just  before  reaching  it  we  were 
again  halted.  Two  of  the  soldiers  reconnoitered, 
and  then  signaled  that  the  buffalo  were  in  sight.  The 
tired  horses  were  now  turned  loose  and  the  extra 
ones  mounted.  As  we  rode  slowly  up  over  the  ridge, 
we  saw  spread  out  before  us  a  wide  valley  black  with 
buffalo.  Two  miles  away,  on  the  other  side,  rose 
steep  ragged  bluffs,  up  which  the  clumsy  buffalo 
would  make  but  slow  progress,  while  the  ponies 
could  run  there  nearly  as  fast  as  on  level  ground.  It 
was  the  very  place  that  would  have  been  chosen  for 
a  surround. 

At  least  a  thousand  buffalo  were  lying  down  in  the 
midst  of  this  amphitheater.  Here  and  there,  away 
from  the  main  herd  on  the  lower  hills,  were  old  bulls, 
singly  and  by  twos  and  threes,  some  of  them  quietly 
chewing  the  cud,  others  sullenly  pawing  up  the  dust, 
or  grinding  their  battered  horns  into  the  yellow  dirt 
of  the  hillsides.  Not  the  slightest  notice  was  taken 
of  us  as  we  rode  down  the  slope  at  a  pace  that  was 
almost  a  run,  but  still  held  in  check  by  the  soldiers. 


A  Summer  Hunt.  299 

The  order  for  the  charge  had  not  yet  been  given. 
Our  line  was  now  much  more  extended  than  it  had 
been;  each  man  pressing  as  far  forward  as  he  dared, 
and  those  on  either  flank  being  so  far  ahead  of  the 
center  that  they  were  almost  on  a  line  with  the  sol 
diers.  We  had  covered  perhaps  half  the  distance 
between  the  hilltop  and  the  buffalo,  when  some  of 
the  outlying  bulls  seemed  to  observe  us,  and  after 
looking  for  a  moment  or  two,  these  started  in  rapid 
flight.  This  attracted  the  attention  of  the  herd,  and 
when  we  were  yet  half  a  mile  from  them,  they  took 
the  alarm.  At  once  all  were  on  their  feet.  For  a 
moment  they  gazed  bewildered  at  the  dark  line  that 
was  sweeping  toward  them,  and  then,  down  went 
every  huge  head  and  up  flew  every  little  tail,  and  the 
herd  was  off  in  a  headlong  stampede  for  the  opposite 
hills.  As  they  sprang  to  their  feet,  the  oldest  man 
of  the  soldiers,  who  was  riding  in  the  center  of  the 
line,  turned  back  toward  us,  and  uttered  a  shrill 
Loo' -ah  !  It  was  the  word  we  had  waited  for. 

Like  an  arrow  from  a  bow  each  horse  darted  for 
ward.  Now  all  restraint  was  removed,  and  each  man 
might  do  his  best.  What  had  been  only  a  wild 
gallop  became  a  mad  race.  Each  rider  hoped  to  be 
the  first  to  reach  the  top  of  the  opposite  ridge,  and 


300  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

to  turn  the  buffalo  back  into  the  valley,  so  that  the 
surround  might  be  completely  successful.  How 
swift  those  little  ponies  were,  and  how  admirably 
the  Indians  managed  to  get  out  of  them  all  their 
speed!  I  had  not  gone  much  more  than  half-way 
across  the  valley  when  I  saw  the  leading  Indians  pass 
the  head  of  the  herd,  and  begin  to  turn  the  buffalo. 
This  was  the  first  object  of  the  chase,  for  in  a  stam 
pede,  the  cows  and  young  are  always  in  the  lead,  the 
bulls  bringing  up  the  rear.  This  position  is  not 
taken  from  chivalric  motives  on  the  part  of  the  males, 
but  simply  because  they  cannot  run  so  fast  as  their 
wives  and  children.  Bulls  are  never  killed  when 
cows  and  heifers  can  be  had. 

Back  came  the  herd,  and  I  soon  found  myself  in 
the  midst  of  a  throng  of  buffalo,  horses  and  Indians. 
There  was  no  yelling  nor  shouting  on  the  part  of  the 
men,  but  their  stern  set  faces,  and  the  fierce  gleam  of 
their  eyes,  told  of  the  fires  of  excitement  that  were 
burning  within  them.  Three  or  four  times  my  rifle 
spoke  out,  and  to  some  purpose;  and  one  shot, 
placed  too  far  back,  drew  on  me  a  quick  savage 
charge  from  a  vicious  young  cow.  My  pony,  while 
a  good  cattle  horse,  was  new  at  buffalo  running,  and 
his  deliberation  in  the  matter  of  dodging  caused  me 


A  Summer  Hunt,  301 

an  anxious  second  or  two,  as  I  saw  the  cow's  head 
sweep  close  to  his  flank.  It  was  far  more  interest 
ing  to  watch  the  scene  than  to  take  part  in  it,  and  I 
soon  rode  to  a  little  knoll  from  which  I  could 
overlook  the  whole  plain.  Many  brown  bodies  lay 
stretched  upon  the  ground,  and  many  more  were 
dashing  here  and  there,  closely  attended  by  relent 
less  pursuers.  It  was  sad  to  see  so  much  death,  but 
the  people  must  have  food,  and  none  of  this  meat 
would  be  wasted. 

Before  I  turned  my  horse's  head  toward  the  camp, 
the  broad  disk  of  the  setting  sun  had  rested  on  the 
tops  of  the  western  bluffs,  and  tipped  their  crests 
with  fire.  His  horizontal  beams  lit  up  with  a  pic 
turesque  redness  the  dusky  forms  which  moved 
about  over  the  valley.  Up  the  ravines  and  over  the 
hills  were  stringing  long  lines  of  squaws,  leading 
patient  ponies,  whose  backs  were  piled  high  with 
dark  dripping  meat,  and  with  soft  shaggy  skins. 
Late  into  the  night  the  work  continued  and  the 
loads  kept  coming  into  the  camp.  About  the  flicker 
ing  fires  in  and  before  the  lodges  there  was  feasting 
and  merriment.  Marrow  bones  were  tossed  among 
the  red  embers,  calf's  head  was  baked  in  the  hot 
earth,  fat  ribs  were  roasted,  ka'-wis  boiled,  and 


302 


Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 


boudins  eaten  raw.     With  laughter  and  singing  and 
story  telling  and  dance  the  night  wore  away. 

Over  the  plain  where  the  buffalo  had  fallen,  the 
gray  wolf  was  prowling,  and,  with  the  coyote,  the 
fox  and  the  badger,  tore  at  the  bones  of  the  slain. 
When  day  came,  the  golden  eagle  and  the  buzzard 
perched  upon  the  naked  red  skeletons,  and  took  their 
toll.  And  far  away  to  the  southward,  a  few  fright 
ened  buffalo,  some  of  which  had  arrows  sticking  in 
their  sore  sides,  were  cropping  the  short  grass  of  the 
prairie. 


THE     PAWNEE    IN    WAR. 

I.    ENEMIES    AND    METHODS    OF    WARFARE. 

THE  Pawnees  were  a  race  of  warriors.  War 
was  their  pleasure  and  their  business.  By 
war  they  gained  credit,  respect,  fame.  By  war  they 
acquired  wealth. 

On  their  long  journey  from  their  primitive  home 
in  the  far  southwest,  they  must  have  met,  fought 
with  and  conquered  many  tribes.  By  conquest — so 
says  tradition — they  obtained  their  first  horses,  cap 
tured  no  one  knows  how  long  ago,  in  an  attack  on  a 
Cheyenne  village. 

They  were  brave  men,  but  brave  after  their  own 
peculiar  fashion.  Their  courage  was  not  displayed 
in  the  same  way  as  that  of  the  white  man.  They 
thought  it  folly  to  expose  themselves  unnecessarily. 
An  enemy  was  to  be  surprised,  and  killed,  while 


304  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

asleep  if  possible,  or  shot  through  by  an  arrow  from 
behind.  To  meet  him  in  what  we  call  fair  fight, 
if  there  were  a  chance  to  kill  him  from  an  am 
bush,  would  have  seemed  an  insane  or  desperate 
proceeding.  And  yet,  as  has  been  shown  by  some 
of  the  stories  already  narrated,  they  often  faced 
death  with  a  calmness  and  an  indifference  which  in 
dicated  the  highest  physical  courage. 

It  has  been  very  well  said  that  the  purpose  of  the 
Indian  in  his  warfare  was  to  inflict  the  greatest 
amount  of  injury  on  his  enemy  with  the  least  possible 
risk  to  himself. 

In  the  old  time  wars,  the  participants  exercised 
the  greatest  prudence  and  caution.  They  took  no 
risks,  where  risks  could  be  avoided.  It  was  more 
glorious  for  a  war  party  to  kill  a  single  enemy  with 
out  receiving  a  wound,  than  to  kill  a  dozen,  if  thereby 
they  lost  a  man.  The  warrior,  who  led  out  a  war 
party,  and  brought  it  back  without  loss,  received 
credit.  His  skill  as  a  leader  was  praised,  and  his 
influence  grew,  A  leader,  who  lost  men,  lost  also 
prestige;  the  chiefs  withdrew  their  confidence  from 
him,  the  young  men  might  decline  after  that  to  join 
his  party. 

When    the    Pawnees    came    into    the    northern 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.          305 

country  they  found  it  occupied  by  the  Poncas,  the 
Omahas  and  the  Otoes.  According  to  their  custom, 
they  attacked  these  tribes,  and,  after  a  resistance 
more  or  less  prolonged,  conquered  them.  The  Pon 
cas  appear  to  have  made  the  most  stubborn  fight 
against  the  invaders,  and  it  is  related  that  they  made 
an  alliance  with  the  Sioux  against  their  common 
enemy.  From  time  to  time  there  would  be  a  cessa 
tion  of  hostilities,  and  peace  would  be  made,  but  this 
never  endured  long. 

There  still  exists  among  the  Pawnees  a  triumph 
song,  composed  after  a  treacherous  attack  on  the 
Pawnees  by  the  Poncas  during  a  time  of  peace.  Mr. 
Dunbar's  remarks  on  this  song  are  so  interesting 
that  I  quote  them  in  full.  He  says,  "The  Pawnee 
has  a  song,  constituting  the  finest  satirical  produc 
tion  in  the  language,  relating  to  an  attempt  that  the 
Poncas  are  said  to  have  once  made  to  recover  their 
independence.  Their  warriors  in  a  body,  so  the 
account  states,  made  a  pretended  visit  of  peace  to 
the  village  of  Chau-i,  at  that  time  the  head  band 
of  the  Pawnees.  After  lulling  to  rest,  as  they  sup 
posed,  the  suspicions  of  the  Chau-i,  according  to  a 
preconcerted  plan,  they  made  an  attack  on  them,  but 
were  signally  discomfited.  In  commemoration  of 


306  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

the  victory  then  achieved,  the  Pawnees  composed 
this  song,  and  the  presumption  is  that  such  a  re 
markable  production  would  not  have  originated  and 
maintained  its  position  permanently  in  their  minds 
without  a  good  historic  basis."  This  is  the  song: 

A,       Li-hit!  Kd 's-ke-har-u,  Kur-u-u-ras^ 

Aha,  you  Ponca!     It  was  (pretended)  peace.     Did  you  find 

id-i,  tus-ku-ra-wusk-u  ?  Lau-i-Zuk-u-ru-ttis. 

What  you  were  laughing  at  me  about  ?    You  meant  fight. 

"The  keen  satire  of  the  interrogation  is  exquisite. 
It  conceives  of  the  Poncas  as  quietly  laughing  in 
their  sleeves,  during  their  ostensibly  amicable  visit. 
in  anticipation  of  the  summary  retribution  that  they 
expected  to  inflict  upon  their  oppressors." 

At  last  the  Poncas,  Omahas  and  Otoes  were 
effectively  subjugated,  and  were  permitted  to  live  on 
the  borders  of  the  Pawnee  territory,  and  under  the 
quasi-protection  of  that  tribe. 

In  the  old  days  before  the  coming  of  the  whites  the 
Pawnees  had  no  enemies  near  at  hand.  They  had 
conquered  all  surrounding  nations,  and  claimed  and 
held  the  country  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  from  the  Niobrara,  south  to 
the  Arkansas  River  or  to  the  Canadian.  Then,  when 
they  wished  to  go  to  war,  they  were  forced  to  journey 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.          3*07 

either  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  fight  the  Utes,  or 
up  the  Missouri  to  attack  the  Crows,  or  down  into 
Mexico  to  plunder  the  Spaniards,  or  into  Texas  to 
steal  horses  from  the  Comanches,  the  Wichitas  and 
other  southern  tribes.  Then  the  war  parties  were 
great  bodies — sometimes  one  thousand  men — and  all 
on  foot.  Afterward,  as  settlements  approached*  them 
and  other  tribes  were  driven  into  their  country,  and 
the  different  Pawnee  bands  were  crowded  together, 
their  campaigns  diminished  in  importance,  the  war 
parties  became  smaller  and  smaller,  until  at  last  only 
half  a  dozen  men  would  start  out,  and  sometimes  a 
single  individual  would  go  off  by  himself  to  steal 
horses. 

The  Pawnees  were  true  Ishmaelites.  They  had  no 
friends  upon  the  prairies  save  those  whom  they  had 
conquered  and  held  by  fear.  Foes  swarmed  about 
them.  »To  the  north  were  the  different  bands  of  the 
Dakotas  and  the  Crows;  to  the  west  the  Utes,  with 
the  Arapahoes,  the  Kiowas  and  the  Cheyennes;  and 
to  the  south  the  Comanches,  Cheyennes,  Kiowas, 
Kansas,  Osages,  and  their  relations  the  Wichitas. 
With  these  last  they  were  long  at  war;  for  the  Paw 
nees  and  Wichitas  had  forgotten  each  other's  exist 
ence,  or  rather  each  tribe  was  wholly  ignorant  as-  to 


308  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

what  had  become  of  the  other.  Only  a  tradition  of 
the  old  relationship  still  remained.  The  kinship  was 
rediscovered  within  the  last  thirty  years,  when  some 
Kaws  came  north  on  a  visit  to  the  Pawnee  village, 
and  brought  with  them  a  Wichita,  who  had  been 
visiting  at  the  Kaw  agency.  The  Pawnees  found 
that  this  man  spoke  a  language  nearly  like  their  own, 
and  at  length  discovered  that  the  Wichitas  were  a 
part  of  their  own  people.  Attempts  were  made  to 
establish  a  peace,  and  to  renew  their  old  friendly  re 
lations,  but  the  fact  that  the  Wichitas  were  so  closely 
allied  to  the  Comanches,  Kiowas  and  Cheyennes 
made  it  very  difficult  for  the  tribes  to  come  together 
on  a  friendly  footing.  Hostilities  still  continued 
therefore,  nor  was  a  lasting  peace  made  until  the 
visit  of  Wi-tl-ti  le-shar-uspi,  already  described. 

As  a  result  of  this  well  nigh  universal  hostility,  the 
Pawnees  were  constantly  being  attacked,  anti  were 
constantly  losing  men,  women  and  children.  Mr. 
Dunbar,  who  has  taken  pains  to  collect  some  facts 
bearing  on  this  point,  says: 

"Probably,  not  a  year  in  this  century  has  been 
without  losses  from  this  source  (warfare),  though 
only  occasionally  have  they  been  marked  with  con 
siderable  disasters.  In  1832  the  Skidi  band  suffered 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.          309 

a  severe  defeat  on  the  Arkansas  from  the  Coman- 
ches.  In  1847  a  Dakota  war  party,  numbering  over 
seven  hundred,  attacked  a  village  occupied  by  two 
hundred  and  sixteen  Pawnees,  and  succeeded  in 
killing  eighty-three.  In  1854  a  party  of  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  were  cut  off  by  an  overwhelming  body 
of  Cheyennes  and  Kiowas,  and  killed  almost  to  a 
man.  In  1873  a  hunting  party  of  about  four  hun 
dred,  two  hundred  and  thirteen  of  whom  were  men, 
on  the  Republican,  while  in  the  act  of  killing  a  herd 
of  buffalo,  were  attacked  by  nearly  six  hundred 
Dakota  warriors,  and  eighty-six  were  killed.  But 
the  usual  policy  of  their  enemies  has  been  to  cut  off 
individual  or  small  scattered  parties,  while  engaged 
in  the  chase  or  in  tilling  isolated  corn  patches. 
Losses  of  this  kind,  trifling  when  taken  singly,  have 
in  the  aggregate  borne  heavily  on  the  tribe.  It 
would  seem  that  such  losses,  annually  recurring, 
should  have  taught  them  to  be  more  on  their  guard. 
But  let  it  be  remembered  that  the  struggle  has  not 
been  in  one  direction  against  one  enemy.  The 
Dakotas,  Crows,  Kiowas,  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes, 
Comanches,  Osages  and  Kansas  have  faithfully 
aided  each  other,  though  undesignedly  in  the  main, 
in  this  crusade  of  extermination  against  the  Pawnee. 


310  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

It  has  been  in  the  most  emphatic  sense,  a  struggle 
of  the  one  against  the  many.  With  the  possible  ex 
ception  of  the  Dakotas,  there  is  much  reason  to 
believe  that  the  animosity  of  these  tribes  has  been 
exacerbated  by  the  galling  tradition  of  disastrous 
defeats  which  Pawnee  prowess  had  inflicted  upon 
themselves  in  past  generations.  To  them  the  last 
seventy  years  have  been  a  carnival  of  revenge." 

Mr.  Dunbar  regards  the  constant  warfare  against 
their  many  enemies  as  one  principal  cause  of  the 
rapid  diminution  in  numbers  of  the  Pawnees,  and, 
no  doubt,  it  was  a  cause;  but  a  far  more  important 
one  was  the  sapping  of  the  tribe's  vitality  by  contact 
with  the  whites.  Their  villages  lay  almost  directly 
in  the  path  of  trans-continental  emigration,  and  it 
was  the  introduction  of  spirits  and  the  special 
diseases  contracted  from  the  whites  which  weakened 
the  tribe,  and  made  the  tough  and  sinewy  Pawnee  a 
ready  prey  to  sickness  and  death. 

Although  so  ferocious  to  people  of  their  own  color, 
the  Pawnees  have  ever  been  at  peace  with  the  whites. 
Bad  men  among  them  have,  no  doubt,  sometimes 
stolen  horses,  but  the  tribe  has  never  carried  on 
an  organized  war  against  the  Government.  While 
they  have  often  been  provoked  by  wanton  outrages 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.          311 

inflicted  on  them,  yet  they  have  always  borne  them 
selves  peaceably  and  mildly,  and  sought  redress  by 
legal  or  persuasive,  rather  than  by  hostile  measures. 

There  is  one  instance  on  record  which,  while  it 
shows  their  ferocity,  exemplifies  also  their  natural 
justice,  and  deserves  to  be  repeated.  This  is  the 
story  of  the  Rawhide. 

In  the  year  1852,  among  a  small  party  of  emigrants, 
who  were  crossing  the  plains  on  their  way  to  Cali 
fornia,  was  a  man  who  had  frequently  asserted  that 
he  would  kill  the  first  Indian  he  saw.  While  the 
train  was  camped  on  a  small  creek  flowing  into  the 
Elkhorn,  a  young  squaw  was  seen,  who  belonged  to 
the  neighboring  Pita-hau-erat  village.  Some  ac 
counts  say  that  she  came  to  the  camp  to  beg,  others, 
that  she  was  going  to  the  stream  for  a  bucket  of 
water.  At  all  events,  she  was  seen  by  the  emigrants, 
who  bantered  the  young  man  to  carry  out  his  boast 
that  he  would  kill  the  first  Indian  he  saw.  He  shot 
and  killed  the  woman.  The  train  moved  on  during 
the  night.  On  the  following  day  the  tribe  learned 
of  this  wanton  butchery.  They  pursued  the  train, 
and  surrounding  it,  demanded  the  murderer.  He 
was  at  once  given  up,  and  a  council  was  held,  at 
which  his  fate  was  decided.  The  train  was  ordered 


3i2  Notes  on  the  Paumees. 

back  to  the  scene  of  the  murder,  and  there,  in  the 
presence  of  his  horrified  companions,  the  Pawnees 
proceeded  to  flay  the  murderer  alive.  After  this  had 
been  done,  the  emigrants  were  permitted  to  proceed 
on  their  journey.  The  stream  on  whose  banks  this 
act  of  grim  justice  took  place  is  still  known  as  Raw 
hide  Creek. 

Not  only  have  the  Pawnees  never  been  at  war 
with  the  whites,  but,  for  the  past  twenty-five  years, 
they  have  been  their  allies  in  every  serious  Indian 
war  which  has  taken  place  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains. 

The  Pawnee  was  taught  to  deal  in  ambuscades  and 
surprises,  yet  he  could  fight  in  the  open,  too,  if  neces 
sity  demanded.  Sometimes  they  had  pitched  battles 
with  their  foes,  but  their  weapons  were  very  primi 
tive,  and  such  combats  were — in  view  of  the  numbers 
engaged  on  either  side — comparatively  bloodless. 
Between  the  years  1860  and  1870  such  battles  fre 
quently  took  place  near  the  Pawnee  village,  when  the 
Sioux,  who  were  far  more  numerous  than  the  Paw 
nees,  would  come  down  from  the  north  to  try  to 
destroy  the  village.  Many  a  time  I  have  heard  from 
the  lips  of  grizzled  warriors  the  stories  of  these  bat 
tles.  Sometimes  the  enemy  would  come  down  in 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.          313 

small  parties,  and  steal  horses,  or  kill  squaws  who 
were  working  in  the  corn  patches,  but  at  other  times 
large  bodies  of  warriors  would  approach  the  village 
without  any  attempt  at  concealment. 

About  sunrise  the  Sioux  would  ride  up  over  the 
hills  in  a  line  fronting  toward  the  village.  They 
appeared  mounted  on  their  best  ponies,  clad  in  their 
most  elaborate  war  costume,  and  wearing  long  war 
bonnets  of  the  feathers  of  the  war  eagle,  which 
almost  swept  the  ground  as  their  horses  curveted 
along  to  the  music  of  the  monotonous  but  thrilling 
war  chant.  At  the  instant  of  their  appearance  the 
Pawnee  village  would  begin  to  stir  like  a  disturbed 
ant  hill.  The  shouts  of  command  by  the  men,  the 
piercing  calls  from  women,  the  alarmed  and  excited 
shrieks  of  the  children,  the  neighing  and  heavy  hoof- 
beats  of  the  horses,  the  barking  and  howling  of  the 
dogs,  as  they  were  kicked  out  of  the  way,  made  a 
very  Babel  of  sounds.  The  men  snatched  their  arms, 
and  springing  on  their  horses  rode  out  on  to  the 
plain  to  meet  the  enemy,  while  the  women  and  chil 
dren,  after  the  horses  had  been  secured,  mounted  to 
the  tops  of  the  dirt  lodges  to  watch  the  fight.  The 
Sioux,  when  they  had  come  into  full  view,  stopped, 
and  sat  there  on  their  horses,  proud  of  their  brave 


314  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

attire,  and  courting  admiration.  Thus  attacked,  the 
Pawnees  often  fought  naked,  but  if  time  permitted 
they  would  don  their  war  dresses  and  elaborately 
paint  themselves  and  their  horses.  As  the  Pawnees 
rode  toward  their  enemy,  the  Sioux  slowly  advanced 
toward  them,  both  with  extended  front.  Each  party 
chanted  its  songs  of  war,  and  uttered  yells  of  defi 
ance.  While  they  were  still  six  or  seven  hundred 
yards  apart  they  halted,  and  stood  facing  each  other. 
After  a  short  wait,  a  warrior  from  one  side  or  the 
other  rode  out  before  the  line  and  addressed  his 
party.  He  opened  his  speech  with  some  remarks 
derogatory  to  the  foe,  and  in  praise  of  his  own  peo 
ple.  From  these  generalities,  he  passed  to  a  con 
sideration  of  his  own  excellent  qualities,  told  of  what 
he  had  done  in  the  past,  and  what  he  now  intended 
doing,  and  when  he  had  finished  speaking,  he  bent 
low  over  his  horse's  neck,  and  rode  furiously  toward 
one  end  of  the  enemy's  line.  When  he  had  come 
within  easy  bowshot,  he  usually  turned  his  horse's 
head,  and  rode  as  hard  as  he  could  down  along  the 
line,  leaning  down,  half  hidden  by  his  horse,  and  dis 
charging  arrow  after  arrow  at  the  enemy.  They  also 
shot  at  him,  as  he  flew  by,  and  as  he  rode  along, 
those  whom  he  had  passed  dashed  out  in  pursuit, 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.          315 

until  the  whole  party  were  riding  after  him  as  hard 
as  they  could  go.  If  he  passed  along  the  line  with 
out  injury,  he  turned  his  horse  toward  his  own  party, 
and  rode  back,  his  pursuers  following  him  but  a 
short  distance.  If,  however,  he  was  wounded  by  the 
arrows  shot  at  him,  and  fell  from  his  horse,  or  if  his 
horse  was  hit  and  disabled,  or  if,  on  account  of  the 
greater  speed  of  their  ponies,  it  seemed  likely  that 
the  enemy  would  overtake  him,  the  whole  body  of 
his  tribe  made  a  headlong  charge  to  rescue  and 
bring  him  off.  The  enemy  were  as  eager  to  take  his 
scalp  as  his  own  people  were  to  save  it,  and  the 
opposing  warriors  came  together  in  a  hot  melee. 

There  was  little  twanging  of  bow  strings,  and  not 
much  thrusting  of  lances;  for  the  most  part  the 
fighting  was  at  quarters  too  close  for  this,  and  the 
combatants  pounded  at  each  other's  heads  with 
hatchets,  war  clubs,  whip  handles,  bows  and  coup 
sticks.  Bruises  were  given  and  received,  sometimes 
a  few  men  were  gashed  with  hatchets  and  lances, 
and  occasionally  a  man  was  killed.  If  the  man  about 
whom  the  struggle  was  taking  place  was  scalped,  his 
party  at  once  drew  off,  leaving  his  body,  which  had 
now  ceased  to  have  any  interest  for  them,  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  If,  however,  he  escaped  scalp- 


3i 6  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

ing,  his  friends  and  foes  soon  separated  and  with 
drew  to  their  former  positions.  Then,  after  a 
breathing  spell,  a  man  of  the  other  party  rode  for 
ward,  and  made  his  speech,  and  the  charge  and 
general  attack  might  be  repeated. 

Occasionally  a  very  daring  or  desperate  man,  in 
stead  of  riding  down  the  opposing  line,  would  charge 
through  it,  and  as  he  reached  it  would  let  fly  an 
arrow  at  some  particular  man,  and  count  coup  on,  and 
scalp  him  as  he  dashed  by.  He  would  at  once  be 
surrounded  by  foes,  who  did  their  best  to  kill  him, 
while  his  own  tribesmen  would  charge  upon  them, 
and  for  a  short  time  the  struggle  would  be  very 
fierce.  A  brave  man,  killed  and  scalped,  was  muti 
lated  in  all  conceivable  ways  by  the  enemy,  and  was 
often  cut  up  into  small  pieces. 

In  this  way  the  battle  might  go  on  for  the  greater 
part  of  a  day  with  varying  fortunes,  but  without  the 
loss  on  either  side  of  more  than  a  man  or  two,  until 
at  last  one  party  or  the  other  would  become  dis 
couraged,  and  would  break  and  run. 

The  Sioux  in  their  attacks  on  the  Pawnee  village 
were  never  the  victors.  They  were  always  defeated 
and  driven  back,  and  often,  in  the  pursuit,  two  or 
three  times  as  many  men  were  killed  as  in  the  actual 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.         317 

battle.  It  was  but  natural  that  the  Pawnees  should 
have  been  successful  in  this  defense  of  their  village, 
for  in  such  fights  they  felt  that  they  must  conquer. 
Defeat  to  them  there  meant  the  loss  of  all  that  they 
possessed,  the  slaughter  of  their  women  and  children, 
and  the  destruction  of  their  village.  Besides,  if 
defeated,  they  had  no  place  to  retreat  to.  They 
would  fight  to  the  death. 

Their  fierce  courage  and  their  fighting  qualities  / 
were  well  shown  on  one  famous  occasion.  The 
tribe  had  gone  off  south  on  the  buffalo  hunt,  and 
there  were  left  in  the  village  only  some  of  the  sick, 
the  old  men,  and  a  few  boys,  women  and  children. 
Among  the  sick  who  remained  was  Ska-di'ks  (Crooked 
Hand),  a  Skidi  brave,  recognized  as  a  leader  in  bat 
tle,  and  one  of  the  bravest  warriors  in  the  tribe.  The 
Sioux  had  learned  of  the  departure  of  the  Pawnees 
with  all  the  fighting  men,  and  had  planned  to  come 
down,  kill  all  the  people  left  at  home,  and  destroy 
the  village. 

One  morning,  to  the  dismay  of  those  who  had 
been  left  behind,  six  hundred  of  the  very  best  of  the 
Sioux  warriors  rode  slowly  into  view  over  the  hills, 
and  down  on  to  the  plain  above  the  village.  They 
made  no  charge,  for  it  was  unnecessary  tQ  hurry 


318  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

about  killing  the  few  women,  the  old  men  and  the 
sick  who  were  to  be  their  unresisting  victims.  They 
wished  to  prolong  the  agony  of  these  wretched  Paw 
nees,  whose  scalps  were  already  theirs,  and  whose 
village  would  soon  be  only  a  few  heaps  of  smoking 
ruins.  As  they  rode  slowly  down  the  hill  there  was 
no  clink  of  steel  nor  rattle  of  harness,  only  the  soft 
rustling  of  the  prairie  grass  under  the  unshod  hoofs 
of  their  spirited  war  ponies,  but  this  sound  was 
drowned  by  the  ominous  music  of  their  triumphant 
war  song,  which,  now  loud,  now  low,  was  faintly 
borne  on  the  breeze  to  the  fated  village.  Very 
deliberately  they  came  on,  singing  as  they  marched, 
proudly,  like  conquerors,  while  the  sun  glittered  on 
polished  lance- head  and  gleaming  hair  plate,  and  the 
wind  blew  out  the  fringes  of  their  white  war  shirts, 
or  gaily  tossed  the  streaming  plumes  of  their  superb 
war  bonnets. 

The  news  of  their  appearance  was  brought  to 
Crooked  Hand,  where  he  lay  sick  in  his  lodge.  At 
once  he  threw  aside  the  robe  in  which  he  was 
wrapped,  and  as  he  rose  to  his  feet,  he  cast  away 
from  him  by  the  same  motion  his  sickness.  His 
orders  were  quickly  issued,  and  as  promptly  obeyed. 
The  village  must  fight.  Tottering  old  men,  whose 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.          319 

sinews  were  now  too  feeble  to  bend  the  bow,  seized 
their  long  disused  arms  and  clambered  on  their 
horses.  Boys  too  young  to  hunt,  whose  bodies  had 
never  been  toughened  by  the  long  journeys  of  the 
warpath,  whose  hearts  had  not  been  made  strong  by 
the  first  fast,  grasped  the  weapons  that  they  had  as 
yet  used  only  on  rabbits  and  ground  squirrels,  flung 
themselves  on  their  ponies,  and  rode  with  the  old 
men.  Even  squaws,  taking  what  weapons  they  could 
• — axes,  hoes,  mauls,  pestles — mounted  horses,  and 
marshaled  themselves  for  battle. 

The  force  for  the  defense  numbered  two  hundred; 
superannuated  old  men,  boys  and  women.  Among 
them  all  were  not,  perhaps,  ten  active  warriors,  and 
these  had  just  risen  from  sick  beds  to  take  their 
place  in  the  line  of  battle.  But  then  this  little 
force  had  a  leader.  Crooked  Hand,  mounted  on  a 
superb  war  pony,  was  as  cool  and  unconcerned  as  if 
he  were  about  to  ride  out  to  a  band  of  buffalo, 
instead  of  leading  a  force  of  old  men  and  children 
against  six  hundred  of  the  best  warriors  that  the 
Sioux  could  muster. 

At  that  time  the  Pawnee  village  was  encompassed 
by  a  high  sod  wall,  and  some  of  Crooked  Hand's 
people  wished  to  await  the  charge  of  the  Sioux 


320  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

behind  this  shelter,  but  their  leader  would  not  per 
mit  this.  He  said  to  them,  "We  can  conquer  the 
Sioux  anywhere."  So  Ska-di'ks  led  his  forces  out  to 
meet  the  attack  in  fair  open  combat  on  the  plain,  on 
the  same  ground  where  so  many  times  the  Pawnees 
had  routed  their  enemies.  As  the  Pawnees  passed 
out  of  the  village  on  to  the  plain,  the  Sioux  saw  for 
the  first  time  the  force  they  had  to  meet.  They 
laughed  in  derision,  calling  out  bitter  jibes,  and  tel 
ling  what  they  would  do  when  they  had  made  the 
charge;  and,  as  Crooked  Hand  heard  their  laughter, 
he  smiled,  too,  but  not  mirthfully.  He  knew  what 
perhaps  the  Sioux  had  forgotten,  that  his  people 
were  single-minded,  and  that  they  would  fight  until 
they  died.  Their  strokes  would  be  for  their  homes 
and  lives. 

The  battle  began.  It  seemed  like  an  unequal 
fight.  Surely  one  charge  would  be  enough  to  over 
throw  this  motley  Pawnee  throng,  who  had  ventured 
out  to  try  to  oppose  the  triumphal  march  of  the 
Sioux.  But  it  was  not  ended  so  quickly.  The  fight 
began  about  the  middle  of  the  morning,  and,  to  the 
amazement  of  the  Sioux,  these  old  men  with  shrunken 
shanks  and  piping  voices,  these  children  with  their 
small  white  teeth  and  soft  round  limbs,  these  women 


Enemies  and  Methods  of  Warfare.         321 

clad  in  skirts,  and  armed  with  hoes,  held  the  invaders 
where  they  were;  they  could  make  no  advance.  A 
little  later  it  became  evident  that  the  Pawnees  were 
driving  the  Sioux  back.  Presently  this  backward 
movement  became  a  retreat,  the  retreat  a  rout,  the 
rout  a  wild  panic.  Then,  indeed,  the  Pawnees  made 
a  great  killing  of  their  enemies.  Many  an  old  man, 
whose  feeble  legs  had  long  refused  to  bear  him  on 
the  warpath,  again  quavered  his  war  cry,  again 
counted  coup  upon  his  enemy.  Many  a  boy,  who  had 
never  shed  the  blood  of  any  creature  larger  than  a 
prairie  chicken,  that  day  struck  his  enemy,  and  with 
shrill  childish  voice  shouted  his  whoop  of  triumph, 
as  he  tore  away  the  reeking  scalp.  More  than  one 
woman,  used  only  to  pounding  corn  and  dressing 
robes,  that  day  counted  her  coup,  and  when  the  tribe 
returned,  told  what  she  had  done,  and  changed  her 
name  like  a  warrior. 

To  the  Pawnees  that  day  was  like  the  day  of 
Thermopylae  to  the  Greeks. 

Crooked  Hand,  preeminent  among  the  heroes  of 
that  fight,  with  his  own  hand  killed  six  of  the  Sioux, 
and  had  three  horses  shot  under  him.  His  wounds 
were  many,  but  he  laughed  at  them.  He  was  con 
tent;  he  had  saved  the  village. 


322  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

The  same  indomitable  spirit  here  shown  has  char- 
acterized  the  Pawnees  always.  For  generations 
they  fought  as  their  fathers  had  fought,  in  their  own 
way,  with  their  native  enemies,  but  when  they  were 
enlisted  in  the  Government  service,  and  trained  in 
the  white  man's  ways  of  war,  they  adapted  them 
selves  readily  to  their  new  conditions. 

A  body  of  men  braver  than  the  Pawnee  Scouts, 
under  Major  Frank  North  and  his  brother  Luther, 
never  rode  on  horses.  They  were  far  better  than 
any  white  soldiers  that  ever  fought  on  the  plains;  for, 
besides  their  natural  courage,  they  had  at  their 
fingers'  end  all  the  wonderful  wisdom  of  the  savage. 
They  could  tell,  as  it  seemed  by  instinct,  where  a 
trail  would  lead,  where  the  enemy  that  they  were 
pursuing  would  camp,  what  were  his  plans.  They 
had  the  endurance  of  their  prototype,  the  wolf.  No 
labor  was  too  severe,  no  journey  too  long,  if  its  end 
was  a  battle  with  their  foes.  Their  courage,  their 
discipline,  their  knowledge  of  the  plains,  their  ac 
quaintance  with  the  habits  of  their  enemies,  their 
endurance,  made  them  superb  soldiers;  but,  perhaps, 
more  than  all  this,  and  yet  a  part  of  all  this,  was  the 
absorbing  devotion  and  trust  which  they  felt  for 
Pa'-ni  Le-shar^  their  white  leader.  Through  all  the 


Pa'-ni  Le-shar  and  his  Scouts.  323 

years  that  they  followed  him,  he  never  led  them  but 
to  victory;  through  all  these  years  he  never  lost  a 
man  in  battle,  and  the  belief  of  the  Pawnees  in  his 
ability  and  his  success  was  like  the  devotion  felt  by 
the  Grande  Armte  for  Napoleon. 

II.    PA'-NI    LE-SHAR    AND    HIS   SCOUTS. 

No  account  of  the  Pawnees'  warfare  would  give 
any  just  impression  of  their  prowess  if  it  omitted 
to  mention  Pa'-ni  Le-shar  and  the  forces  which  he 
commanded.  The  Pawnee  Scouts,  under  the  gal 
lant  and  able  leadership  of  Frank  North,  did  splen 
did  service  against  hostile  Indians.  They  saved 
hundreds  of  lives  and  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
property,  and  in  their  campaigns  wiped  out  in  blood 
the  memory  of  many  an  injury  done  to  their  race  by 
the  Sioux,  the  Cheyennes,  the  Arapahoes  and  the 
Kiowas. 

Frank  North  was  born  in  Ohio,  March  10,  1840. 
When  about  fifteen  years  of  age  he  accompanied  his 
family  westward  to  Council  Bluffs,  and  a  little  later 
across  the  Missouri  River  into  Nebraska.  At  about 
this  time,  his  father,  who  was  a  surveyor,  was  lost  in 
a  snow  storm,  and  the  responsibility  of  caring  for  his 


324  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

family  fell  in  large  measure  on  the  boy.  Soon  after 
this  he  obtained  employment  as  clerk  in  the  trader's 
store  at  the  Pawnee  agency,  and  thus  made  the  ac- 
qaintance  of  the  tribe.  His  strong  character  early 
brought  him  to  the  notice  of  their  principal  men,  and 
almost  before  attaining  manhood  he  had  become  a 
person  of  influence  in  the  councils  of  the  Pawnee 
Nation. 

In  the  year  1864  Frank  North  was  authorized  to 
enlist  a  company  of  Pawnee  scouts  to  be  employed 
against  the  bands  of  hostile  Indians,  whose  depreda 
tions  were  at  that  time  becoming  very  troublesome. 
The  command  was  organized  that  autumn,  and  did 
some  service  along  the  old  emigrant  trail.  It  was  not 
until  the  summer  of  1865,  however,  that  it  saw  any 
serious  fighting.  In  that  year  General  Connor  of 
California  commanded  a  large  expedition  to  the 
Powder  River  country,  and  the  Pawnee  scouts  ac 
companied  him  and  rendered  brilliant  service. 

Later,  during  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railway,  the  depredations  of  the  hostile  Sioux,  Chey- 
ennes  and  Arapahoes  became  so  serious  along  the 
line  of  the  road  that  the  Government  authorized 
Mr.  North  to  enlist  a  battalion  of  scouts  from  the 
Pawnee  Nation,  and  offered  him  the  command  with 


Pa'-ni  Le-shar  and  his  Scouts.  325 

the  rank  of  major.  Several  companies  of  these 
scouts  were  so  enlisted,  and  for  years  the  battalion 
did  good  service  on  the  plains  and  in  the  mountains 
in  Nebraska,  Kansas  and  Wyoming,  serving  under 
Generals  Auger,  Emory,  Carr,  Royal,  Mackenzie  and 
Crook,  some  of  the  most  successful  Indian  fighters  in 
that  Department.  The  Pawnee  scouts  were  every 
where,  and  at  all  times  brave  men,  good  soldiers  and 
victorious  warriors.  The  amount  of  property  saved 
to  the  Government,  the  settlers  and  the  railroad 
through  the  efforts  of  Major  North's  command  can 
scarcely  be  computed.  In  all  his  service  of  almost 
constant  fighting,  extending  over  a  period  of  more 
than  ten  years,  he  never  lost  a  man  on  the  battle 
field,  and  this  caused  him  to  be  regarded  by  the 
Pawnees  as  divinely  favored. 

It  is  impossible  within  the  limits  of  a  few  pages  to 
give  even  a  sketch  of  the  services  performed  by 
Frank  North  and  his  scouts.  Two  or  three  isolated 
episodes  in  his  career  will  show  something  of  the 
constant  danger  and  hardship  of  the  life  he  led,  and  / 
of  the  courage,  coolness  and  determination  of  the 
leader  and  his  men. 

Such  an  episode,  memorable  alike  for  its  danger, 
the  completeness  of  the  victory  gained,  and  the  fact 


326  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

that  it  won  for  him  the  title  by  which  he  was  ever 
after  known  among  the  Pawnees,  marked  his  first 
campaign.  It  was  in  the  Powder  River  country,  and 
Captain^Jorth  had  started  with  a  detachment  of  his 
scouts  in  pursuit  of  a  party  of  Indians,  whose  trail  he 
had  found.  For  some  weeks  his  men  had  been  hard 
worked;  and  at  this  time  their  horses  were  so  jaded 
that  although  they  had  come  within  sight  of  the 
Cheyennes,  they  were  unable  to  overtake  them  and 
force  them  to  a  fight.  Captain  North,  who  was 
mounted  on  a  fresh  horse,  rode  far  ahead  of  his  men, 
who  were  constantly  falling  further  and  further 
behind.  At  length,  realizing  the  futility  of  con 
tinuing  the  pursuit,  North  dismounted,  fired  a  part 
ing  shot  at  the  Indians,  and  was  about  to  ride  back 
toward  camp,  when  the  fleeing  Cheyennes,  about 
twenty-five  in  number,  turned  and  charged  him.  He 
then  discovered  that  he  had  outridden  all  his  men. 
Not  one  of  them  was  in  sigh*  Hastily  dismounting, 
he  prepared  to  receive  the  enemy,  and  firing  as  they 
advanced,  killed  one.  The  rest  sheered  off,  and  rode 
out  of  rifle  shot,  and  then  formed  again  for  another 
charge.  Feeling  for  a  cartridge  to  reload  his  rifle, 
North  made  the  startling  discovery  that  he  had  but 
three  left,  all  the  others  having  been  lost  during  his 


Pa'-ni  Le-shar  and  his  Scouts.  327 

rapid  ride.  He  found,  too,  that  his  horse  had  been 
wounded  by  a  ball  from  the  Cheyennes,  and  was 
in  no  condition  for  running;  indeed,  it  could  not  be 
ridden.  His  situation  seemed  well  nigh  hopeless, 
but  he  prepared  to  make  the  best  of  it,  by  retreating  on 
foot,  leading  his  wounded  horse  as  a  shelter,  from 
behind  which  to  fight.  When  the  Cheyennes  charged 
him  he  would  face  about,  raise  his  gun  to  his  shoul* 
der,  as  if  about  to  fire,  and  the  Indians,  who  had 
already  tasted  the  quality  of  his  lead,  would  drop 
down  behind  their  horses,  and  sheer  off,  never  com 
ing  so  close  to  him  as  to  make  it  necessary  for  him 
to  use  one  of  his  precious  cartridges.  After  a  long 
weary  walk  of  twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  during  which 
his  moccasin-shod  feet  were  cruelly  lacerated  by  the 
thorns  of  the  cactus,  over  which  he  walked,  his  pur 
suers  left  him,  and  he  reached  his  command  in 
safety.  No  sooner  had  he  arrived  at  the  camp  than, 
taking  a  fresh  horse  and  ordering  out  a  well-mounted 
detachment  of  his  men,  he  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the 
enemy.  All  that  afternoon  they  rode  hard,  and 
when  night  fell,  dismounting  a  couple  of  Pawnees  to 
follow  the  trail  on  foot,  the  pursuit  was  still  kept  up. 
Just  after  daylight,  as  they  rode  out  into  a  little 
park  in  the  mountains,  a  tiny  column  of  blue  smoke 


328  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

rising  from  a  clump  of  cottonwood  trees  showed 
where  the  hostiles  were  camped.  The  Pawnees  rode 
steadily  forward  in  double  file  in  military  fashion; 
and  the  Cheyennes,  supposing  that  they  were  white 
soldiers,  jumped  on  their  horses  and  rode  out  on  to 
the  open  hillside  where  they  formed  a  line  of  battle 
to  meet  the  enemy.  The  Pawnees  rode  quietly  on 
ward  until  they  were  quite  near  the  Cheyennes,  and 
then  loud  and  clear  their  ringing  war  whoop  broke 
out  upon  the  morning  air.  When  the  Cheyennes 
heard  this  war-cry,  which  told  them  that  the  attack 
ing  party  were  Pawnees,  their  hearts  became  like 
water,  and  they  turned  and  fled.  Already,  however, 
seven  of  their  number  had  fallen  before  the  Pawnee 
bullets,  and  the  fresher  horses  of  the  Pawnees  easily 
overtook  the  tired  ones  ridden  by  the  pursued.  Of 
that  party  of  Cheyennes  not  one  escaped,  and  with 
twenty-seven  scalps,  and  all  the  plunder,  the  vic 
torious  Pawnees  returned  that  afternoon  to  their 
command. 

Among  the  captured  property  were  thirty-five 
horses  and  mules,  some  of  which  had  been  taken 
from  a  party  of  fifteen  soldiers,  killed  to  a  man  by 
these  Cheyennes  but  a  few  days  before;  there  were 
also  the  scalps  of  these  soldiers,  and  wearing  apparel 


Pa'-nt  Le-shar  and  his  Scouts.  329 

belonging  to  white  women  and  children,  which  justi 
fied  the  belief  that  they  had  recently  massacred  a 
party  of  emigrants. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  scalp  dance  which 
followed  this  victory,  and  when  the  Scouts  were 
changing  their  names,  as  was  the  custom  after  a 
successful  encounter  with  the  enemy,  that  the  Paw 
nees  gave  to  Major  North  the  title  Pa'-ni  Le-shar 
(Chief  of  the  Pawnees),  a  name  which  has  been 
borne  by  only  one  other  white  man,  General  John  C. 
Fremont,  the  Pathfinder. 

The  story  of  the  killing  of  Tall  Bull,  and  the  fight 
with  Turkey  Leg's  band  of  Sioux,  illustrate  the 
readiness  and  the  daring  of  Major  North  in  battle. 
Tall  Bull  was  a  chief  who  commanded  a  large  village 
of  renegade  Sioux  and  Cheyennes,  who  had  given 
great  trouble  by  their  depredations.  Major  North, 
with  his  Pawnees  and  some  white  United  States 
troops,  had  been  looking  for  this  village  for  some 
time,  and  at  length  succeeded  in  surprising  it  near 
Summit  Springs.  The  village  was  captured  in  the 
charge  and  many  of  the  hostiles  killed.  Others  fled 
or  concealed  themselves  in  the  ravines  and  washouts, 
which  seamed  the  prairie,  and  made  a  desperate 
fight.  The  Pawnees  were  scattered  about  in  little 


330  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

parties,  killing  the  Indians  thus  concealed,  when 
Major  North  and  his  brother  came  riding  rapidly 
along,  side  by  side,  over  the  open  prairie.  They  had 
approached  within  fifty  or  sixty  yards  of  a  narrow 
steep-walled  ravine,  of  the  existence  of  which  they 
were  ignorant,  when  an  Indian  raised  his  head  above 
its  side  and  fired.  The  ball  whistled  between  the 
heads  of  the  two  riders;  Major  North  threw  up  his 
hands  and  reeled  in  the  saddle  as  if  about  to  fall, 
and  the  Indian's  head  disappeared  from  sight. 
Springing  from  his  horse,  the  Major  handed  his 
bridle  rein  to  his  brother  and  directed  him  to  ride 
away  at  a  gallop.  The  tramp  of  the  two  horses 
sounded  more  and  more  faintly  on  the  hard  ground, 
and  the  Indian,  thinking  that  the  whites  were  riding 
off,  raised  his  head  to  note  the  effect  of  his  shot. 
North's  rifle  was  already  leveled  at  the  spot  where 
the  head  had  disappeared,  and  as  the  black  hair  came 
into  view  the  finger  pressed  the  trigger  more  and 
more  closely,  and  as  the  eyes  appeared  above  the 
ground,  a  ball  pierced  the  brain  of  Tall  Bull.  A  hun 
dred  yards  up  the  ravine  was  found  his  war  pony, 
stabbed  to  the  heart,  and  by  it  sat  his  squaw,  awaiting 
with  Indian  patience  whatever  fate  might  come  to 
her. 


Pd-ni  Le-shar  and  his  Scouts.  331 

During  one  of  the  summer  hunts,  on  which  Major 
North  accompanied  the  Pawnees,  they  were  one  day 
scattered  out  over  the  prairie  running  buffalo,  when 
all  at  once  North  heard  the  whistle  of  rifle  balls  and 
saw  the  dirt  thrown  up  about  his  horse  by  the  bul 
lets.  He  called  to  a  Pawnee  near  him  to  tell  those 
boys  to  be  more  careful  about  shooting.  The  Paw 
nee  looked  in  the  direction  from  which  the  balls 
were  coming,  and  after  an  instant  called  back,  "  They 
are  Sioux,  you  had  better  run."  It  was  a  large  party 
of  Sioux  under  the  Chief  Turkey  Leg. 

North  and  the  Pawnee  rode  for  the  bluffs  near  at 
hand,  and  before  reaching  them  were  joined  by  C. 
D.  Morse,  his  brother-in-law,  and  half  a  dozen  Paw 
nees.  The  little  party  was  surrounded  by  the  Sioux 
and  took  refuge  in  a  shallow  washout  at  the  head  of 
a  ravine,  where  they  were  somewhat  sheltered  from 
the  enemy's  fire  by  the  sunflower  stalks  and  the  low 
edges  of  the  bank.  Their  horses  were  at  once  killed, 
and  the  Sioux,  who  were  numerous,  became  very 
bold,  charging  up  to  the  edge  of  the  washout,  and 
shooting  down  into  it. 

They  were  led  by  an  Indian,  apparently  of  some 
importance,  who  was  conspicuous  by  a  large  Ameri 
can  flag  which  he  carried.  This  man  was  constantly 


332  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

exhorting  his  men,  and  would  lead  them  part  way  on 
the  charge,  turning  off,  however,  before  coming  with 
in  range  of  the  washout,  where  North  and  his  brother- 
in-law,  with  the  seven  Pawnees,  were  lying  con 
cealed.  After  each  charge  he  would  ride  to  the  top 
of  a  hill  near  at  hand,  and  make  a  speech  to  his  war 
riors.  It  occurred  to  Major  North  that  if  he  could 
kill  the  man  who  carried  the  flag  the  other  Sioux 
might  lose  some  of  their  courage.  As  they  were  re 
tiring  from  a  charge,  therefore,  he  crept  cautiously 
down  the  ravine,  concealed  by  the  long  grass  which 
grew  in  its  bed,  until  he  had  come  within  rifle  range 
of  the  hill  from  which  the  leader  was  making  his 
speech,  and  by  a  careful  shot  killed  him  and  regained 
the  shelter  of  the  washout  without  injury. 

Disheartened  by  the  fall  of  their  leader,  the  Sioux 
made  no  further  attempt  to  kill  the  besieged  company, 
but  after  a  little  desultory  long-range  firing  drew  off, 
so  that  North  and  his  little  party  regained  the  main 
village  in  safety. 

The  Pawnee  Scouts  were  last  called  out  in  1876, 
when  General  Mackenzie  fought  the  hostile  Chey- 
ennes  in  the  Powder  River  country;  and,  led  by  Major 
North  and  his  brother,  they  made  that  famous  charge 
on  the  village  which  inflicted  on  the  hostiles  the 


Pa'-ni  Le-shar  and  his  Scouts.  333 

•      4 

crushing  blow  from  which  they  never  recovered. 
How  Pa'-ni  Le-shar  held  his  men  under  fire  that 
day,  when  the  bullets  were  raining  on  them  from  the 
hillsides,  was  told  in  a  letter  written  to  me  by  a  par 
ticipant  in  the  fight.  "  For  cool  bravery,"  it  ran,  "he 
beats  anything  that  you  evereaw.  Why,  at  one  time  we 
were  under  such  Hot  fire  that  even  our  scouts  wanted 
to  run,  and  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  felt  sort  of  that 
way  myself;  but  Frank  just  straightened  himself  up 
on  the  old  black  horse  and  said,  very  quietly,  'The 
first  one  of  my  men  that  runs  I  will  kill.'  They 
didn't  run." 

If  the  full  story  of  Major  North's  life  were  written 
it  would  constitute  a  history  of  the  Indian  wars  in 
Nebraska  and  Wyoming  from  1860  to  1876 — a  his 
tory  so  complete  that  there  would  be  little  left  to 
add  to  it.  Wherever  the  hostile  Indians  were  worst 
there  Frank  North  was  to  be  found  at  the  head  of 
his  Pawnee  Scouts,  doing  the  hardest  of  the  fighting, 
and  accomplishing  work  that  could  have  been  done 
by  no  other  body  of  men. 

From  his  long  service  in  the  army  Major  North 
was  known  to  all  officers  Who  have  ever  been 
stationed  in  the  field  where  his  operations  were  con 
ducted,  and  by  all  of  them  he  was  admired  and  re- 


334  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

spected.  He  was  closely  connected  with  the  growth 
.  of  the  State  of  Nebraska.  Several  times  he  repre 
sented  Platte  county  in  the  Legislature,  and  the 
strength  and  uprightness  of  his  character  won  the 
confidence  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  died  at  his 
home  in  Columbus,  Nebraska,  March  14,  1885,  aged 
forty-five  years. 

His  was  a  singularly  lovable  nature.  If  the 
stronger  manly  points  of  his  character  inspired 
respect  and  admiration,  not  less  did  his  gentleness 
and  consideration  for  others  win  the  deepest  affec 
tion.  He  was  modest  almost  to  diffidence,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  he  could  be  induced  to  speak 
of  his  own  heroic  achievements.  And  yet  his  face 
told  the  story  of  the  power  within  the  man. 

The  secret  of  Major  North's  success  in  command 
ing  the  Pawnees,  who  loved  him  as  much  as  they 
respected  him,  lay  in  the  unvarying  firmness,  justice, 
patience  and  kindness  with  which  he  treated  them. 
He  never  demanded  anything  unreasonable  of  them, 
but  when  he  gave  an  order,  even  though  obedience 
involved  great  peril,  or  appeared  to  mean  certain 
death,  it  was  a  command  that  must  be  carried 
out.  He  was  their  commander,  but  at  the  same 
time  their  brother  and  friend.  Above  all,  he  was 


War  Parties.  335 

their  leader.  In  going  into  battle  he  never  said  to 
them,  "Go,"  but  always  "Come  on."  It  is  little 
wonder,  then,  that  the  devotion  felt  for  him  by  all 
the  Pawnee  Nation,  and  especially  by  the  men  who 
had  served  under  him  in  battle,  was  as  steadfast  as  it 
was  touching. 

III.    WAR    PARTIES. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  the  highest  ambition 
of  the  Pawnee  young  man  was  to  be  successful  in 
war.  His  whole  training,  all  his  surroundings,  caused 
him  to  believe  that  this  success  was  the  only  thing 
worth  living  for.  Life  at  best  he  regarded  as  hard 
enough,  and  only  the  fame  to  be  acquired  by  the 
performance  of  brave  deeds  could  sweeten  it  so  as 
to  make  it  endurable.  To  convey  a  notion  of  the 
way  in  which  these  war  parties  were  originated,  and 
of  the  manner  in  which  they  were  led,  I  give  here 
stories  told  me  by  three  brave  men  who  in  the  old 
days  led  out  many  war  parties.  The  three  stories 
were  taken  down  from  the  lips  of  the  narrators. 
Only  one  who  is  familiar  with  scenes  in  an  Indian 
camp  can  conceive  how  much  these  stories  lose  by 
being  put  into  cold  type.  As  heard  from  the  lips  of 
the  Indian,  they  have  accessories  of  surroundings, 


336  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

voice  and  gesticulation,  which  add  tremendously  to 
their  vividness  and  their  interest.  Your  Indian  is  a 
real  actor,  and  in  telling  a  story  he  throws  himself 
into  his  tale,  and  helps  out  his  vocal  speech  with  a 
sign  vocabulary  which  almost  tells  the  whole  story 
to  one  who  is  ignorant  of  the  language. 

In  the  middle  of  the  lodge  the  fire  is  burning,  and 
over  it  hangs  the  pot  which  is  ever  bubbling.  At 
the  back  of  the  lodge,  opposite  the  doorway,  sits  the 
host,  and  above  him  to  the  lodge  poles  are  tied  the 
sacred  bundles,  their  buckskin  coverings  black  with 
the  smoke  and  wear  of  years.,  perhaps  of  centuries. 
To  the  left  of  the  host  are  the  most  important  guests, 
and  the  other  inmates  of  the  lodge  are  scattered 
about  here  and  there,  the  women  being  nearest  the 
door.  The  host  hands  the  pipe  to  some  young  man, 
who  carefully  fills  it,  and  soon  it  is  passing  around 
the  circle.  Then  a  few  remarks  are  made  by  the 
older  men,  and  some  question  is  asked  which  starts 
discussion.  After  that  comes  a  pause,  and  then  a 
middle-aged  warrior  begins  a  story.  He  is  They- 
know-that-Leader,  and  he  tells  how  he  took  the 
horses: 

"They  tell  me  that  my  father  was  a  warrior,  and 
in  his  time  led  out  many  war  parties.  In  my  young 


War  Parties.  337 

days  I  went  out  with  war  parties  as  a  volunteer  many 
times. 

"  In  my  trips  with  warriors  I  had  closely  watched 
their  ways  and  movements.  I  had  learned  from  them 
how  to  shoot  and  how  to  travel  so  as  to  escape  dis 
covery.  I  made  three  trips  as  leader.  I  resolved 
one  time,  just  as  we  were  setting  out  on  the  summer 
hunt,  that  during  the  hunt  I  would  ,lead  a  party  off 
on  the  warpath.  I  made  my  plans,  but  I  waited  first 
to  make  the  sacrifice.  At  that  time  we  did  not  go 
far;  we  came  back  to  the  village  because  the  Sioux 
were  about  us  on  the  hunt. 

"  On  a  certain  day  I  played  all  day  the  stick  game 
(Satsa-wi-kah-tush),  In  the  afternoon  I  had  lost 
everything  I  had.  Late  in  the  afternoon  I  called 
a  few  of  the  young  men  to  sit  down  with  me.  When 
they  had  come  and  sat  down  with  me,  there  were 
only  a  few.  I  said  to  them,  *  I  have  called  you  to 
gether  to  let  you  know  that  I  am  poor  in  mind.  I 
want  to  find  out  if  Ti-ra'-wa  will  take  pity  on  me 
and  help  me.  I  intend  that  you  and  I  shall  go  off 
somewhere  on  the  warpath.  Make  your  prepara 
tions  to  start  in  two  days.  Get  your  moccasins  filled 
with  food,  get  your  awls  and  sinews,  your  arrows 
and  your  bows.' 


338  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

•  "On  the  day  I  had  set,  in  the  night,  we  went  out 
•from  the  village,  having  with  us  the  old  man  who 
had  performed  the  ceremonies  of  the  sacred  things 
that  I  was  to  have  with  me.  On  the  outskirts  of  the 
village,  we  stood  in  a  row,  and  the  old  man  prayed 
for  our  success.  Then  we  were  ready  to  start. 

''Different  war  parties  had  gone  out  before  I 
started,  but  I  considered  to  see  if  there  was  not 
some  way  in  which  I  could  beat  them.  I  made  a 
plan  by  which  I  got  ahead  of  them.  We  traveled 
fast,  and  went  up  to  Grand  Island  to  get  some  ar 
rows — for  my  young  men  had  but  few  arrows — and 
also  to  get  some  provisions.  The  next  morning  we 
again  started,  and  went  as  far  as  we  could  that  day. 
At  night  I  performed  ceremonies,  as  I  had  been 
directed.  I  filled  a  pipe  and  smoked  to  Ti-ra'-wa, 
as  we  have  always  done.  That  is  the  first  thing  we 
have  to  do.  Then  I  told  some  of  my  young  men  to 
build  a  fire,  and  others  to  go  off  to  a  distance  to 
watch. 

"On  a  war  party  some  one  was  always  taken  along 
who  could  shoot  well.  This  time  we  had  no  one 
except  myself.  The  next  day  I  killed  an  antelope, 
but  I  did  not  sacrifice  then,  because  those  are  not 
animals  which  we  sacrifice.  We  had  been  gone  three 


War  Parties.  339 

nights  more  before  I  killed  anything  more.  The 
fourth  day  I  killed  a  buck  deer,  and  I  sacrificed  it. 
From  that  day  on  I  never  killed  anything. 

"After  I  had  been  out  nine  days  I  stole  the  horses. 
It  was  not  always  the  same  about  stealing  horses.  It 
was  not  always  done  in  the  same  way.  It  was  day 
time  when  my  scouts  discovered  that  there  were 
people  about;  they  saw  signs  of  a  village.  They 
told  me  afterward  that  they  had  heard  reports  of 
guns  during  the  day.  They  had  not  come  back  to 
tell  me  of  this,  but  had  gone  by.  I  was  coming  on 
behind  with  the  young  men,  when  all  at  once  I  heard 
the  report  of  a  gun.  As  soon  as  I  heard  it  I  stopped, 
and  sent  two  spies  out  to  see  what  it  was,  and  whether 
a  camp  was  near.  They  wandered  about  in  the  tim 
ber,  and  came  back  and  said  that  they  saw  nothing. 
I  told  my  men  that  we  would  go  off  to  a  distance 
and  wait  there  during  the  night.  We  waited  there 
until  morning,  and  when  the  sun  got  up  we  heard 
the  report  of  guns  in  different  directions,  and  some 
times  coming  toward  us.  We  went  to  a  cafion,  and 
hid  in  the  plum  brush,  and  ate  plums.  Of  course  we 
were  afraid,  but  we  ate  the  plums.  We  thought  that 
this  might  be  the  last  time  we  would  ever  have  any 
plums.  They  were  shooting  all  about  us,  and  seemed 


34°  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

to  be  coming  closer.  In  the  afternoon,  the  shots 
stopped,  and  they  went  on  to  their  camp. 

"While  we  were  hiding  here,  many  of  the  party 
feared  that  we  had  been  seen.  They  wanted  to  start 
back  as  soon  as  it  grew  dark,  but  I  deceived  them. 
I  told  them  that  I  was  very  thirsty,  and  that  we 
would  have  to  go  down  to  a  certain  place  near  the 
river,  and  get  a  drink  of  water.  After  night  we 
started,  and  as  we  were  going  along,  we  heard  a  dog 
bark.  We  stopped  and  sat  down,  and  I  told  my 
companions  that  two  men,  whom  I  called  by  name, 
were  to  go  and  steal  horses.  'But,'  I  said,  'I  am 
going  with  them  to  look  after  them/  I  told  them  to 
pull  off  their  leggings  and  moccasins,  because  the 
brush  was  dry  and  caught  on  them,  making  a  noise. 
We  went  together  to  a  certain  place  near  the  village, 
and  then  these  young  men  told  me  that  they  had 
been  there  the  day  before  and  had  been  discovered. 
Then  they  turned  around  and  went  back  to  where 
the  party  were  hiding,  but  I  went  on  to  the  village. 

"When  I  came  close  to  the  village  everything  was 
still;  the  people  were  asleep.  Where  I  entered  the 
camp,  there  was  a  little  timber  growing,  and  here  I 
stopped.  While  I  was  considering  what  I  should  do, 
a  girl  came  out  of  a  lodge,  but  she  went  away  from 


War  Parties.  341 

me.  If  she  had  come  toward  me  I  should  have 
killed  her,  for  she  would  have  discovered  me.  After 
the  girl  had  entered  a  lodge,  I  went  into  the  camp 
to  where  there  were  some  horses.  I  drove  them  out 
of  the  camp.  Six  went  back,  and  I  drove  nine  to 
where  I  had  left  my  party.  The  two  that  I  had 
ordered  to  steal  horses  for  me  were  there.  When  I 
came  to  the  place,  and  found  all  my  men  there,  I 
said  to  them,  'This  is  very  good.  I  have  stolen 
some  horses  for  you.  Now  I  will  go  back  and  get 
the  rest  of  them  for  you.'  One  of  the  other  men 
persuaded  me  not  to  go  again,  but  to  let  him  go. 
He  did  so,  and  brought  the  six  other  horses. 

"It  was  the  custom,  if  it  was  very  difficult  or  dan 
gerous  to  go  to  a  place  to  steal  horses,  for  the  leader 
himself  to  go  and  do  the  work. 

"After  two  nights  on  the  return  journey  I  divided 
the  horses  among  the  men.  It  used  to  be  the  custom 
after  a  party  had  been  successful  and  brought  back 
the  horses  for  them  to  change  their  names.  After 
this  trip  my  name  was  changed  to  'They-know-that- 
Leader/  It  was  the  custom  among  the  Pawnees  if 
they  brought  in  horses  to  make  an  offering.  We  felt 
that  we  owed  something  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  and  we  gave 
a  horse  to  the  priest,  the  old  man  who  had  performed 


342  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

the  ceremonies.     I  was  gone  but  thirteen  days,  and 
returned  to  my  tribe." 

After  him  follows  A-ka-pa-kish — Pities-the-Poor, 
He,  too,  tells  his  story,  and  explains  why  one  of  his 
war  parties  was  unsuccessful: 

"  My  father  told  me,  if  I  should  ever  want  to  go 
off  on  a  war  party,  to  humble  myself,  and  not  to  let 
a  day  pass  without  praying  to  Ti-ra'-wa  by  my  smokes. 
I  must  always  remember  to  pray  to  Ti-ra'-wa  to  give 
me  a  strong  will,  and  to  encourage  and  bless  me  in 
my  worship  to  him.  Even  when  I  was  eating  I 
must  always  remember  to  pray  to  him.  This  I  must 
do  for  some  time  before  starting  out. 

"At  one  time  I  felt  that  I  was  poor,  and  I  resolved 
to  go  off  on  the  warpath.  A  warrior,  whom  I  knew, 
went  out  and  took  a  lot  of  horses.  He  had  been  as 
poor  as  I.  I  believed  that  this  man  had  got  his 
horses  because  he  had  prayed  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  and  I 
thought,  '  If  I  pray  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  why  may  I  not  do 
the  same.'  So  I  prayed.  No  one  else  knew  what 
I  intended.  After  I  had  made  up  my  mind,  I 
selected  another  man,  one  whom  I  could  trust,  and 
called  him  to  tell  him  of  my  resolve.  I  made  him 
sit  by  me  in  the  lodge,  and  said  to  him,  '  I  want  you 


War  Parties.  343 

to  sit  by  me  to-day,  and  smoke,  and  learn  my  inten 
tion.'  After  we  had  smoked,  I  said  to  him,  'My 
friend,  I  want  you  to  know  that  we  are  on  the  war 
path.  We  are  going  out  to  look  for  some  horses/ 
After  he  had  smoked,  the  other  man  replied,  saying, 
'Brother,  it  is  well.  Let  us  ask  Ti-ra'-wa  to  take 
pity  on  us,  to  help  us  on  our  war  trip,  and  to  let 
us  bring  home  many  horses.'  We  two  were  the 
leaders. 

"Some  time  after  we  had  talked  together,  and 
made  up  our  minds  what  we  would  do,  we  selected 
certain  young  men  that  we  could  depend  on,  and 
told  them  that  we  were  on  the  warpath.  This  was 
done  in  this  way.  We  selected  a  pipe  with  which  to 
have  a  sacred  smoke,  filled  it  and  smoked.  Then 
we  called  together  into  the  lodge  the  others,  who  did 
not  know  our  purpose.  After  they  had  assembled,  I 
filled  the  pipe,  and  said,  'We  are  going  on  a  war 
party.  We  have  filled  this  pipe,  and  must  decide 
what  is  to  be  done.'  Then  I  passed  the  pipe  to  the 
man  who  sat  next  to  me.  If  he  wished  to  join  us  he 
smoked,  and  passed  it  to  the  next  man.  It  was  not 
allowed  for  any  one  to  smoke  unless  he  would  go 
with  this  party.  Some  might  refuse  the  pipe,  saying, 
'I  have  decided  to  go  with  another  party.'  The 


344  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

smoking  of  the  pipe  was  a  promise  that  the  leader 
could  depend  on  the  man  who  smoked. 

"  They  used  to  have  a  certain  ceremony  to  follow 
before  starting  out  on  the  warpath.  It  was  some 
thing  handed  down,  a  special  manner  of  praying  to 
Ti-ra'-wa  that  he  would  bless  them  in  their  warfare. 

"At  last  everything  was  ready  for  the  start.  The 
young  men  had  their  packs  made  up.  They  carried 
cooked  pounded  corn,  and  pounded  buffalo  meat 
mixed  with  tallow;  and  sometimes  the  loads  were 
heavy.  Some  would  carry  ten  pairs  of  moccasins, 
each  one  stuffed  full  of  corn,  or  pounded  buffalo 
meat.  They  were  well  fed.  The  loads  were  so 
heavy  that  at  first  we  would  only  make  short  marches. 
The  leaders  had  to  see  that  the  young  men  were  not 
overworked. 

"  When  all  was  ready,  the  priest  who  performed 
the  ceremonies  met  us.  He  brought  with  him  the 
sacred  bundle  which  we  were  to  take  with  us.  At 
night  when  it  was  all  still,  after  every  one  was  asleep, 
the  ceremonies  were  performed.  We  smoked  and  wor 
shiped  to  the  east  and  west,  and  to  the  north  and 
south,  and  prayed  for  success. 

"  On  that  night  we  started,  and  went  as  far  as  we 
could;  and  the  next  day,  toward  evening,  when  we 


War  Parties.  345 

stopped,  we  dug  out  a  fire-place,  like  the  one  in  a 
lodge,  and  we  two  leaders  sat  by  it,  facing  the  east, 
while  before  us  were  the  sacred  things.  The  leader 
has  to  be  a  good  orator,  he  has  to  speak  to  his  young 
men,  and  advise  them  well,  encouraging  them  to  be 
ctrong-hearted.  He  would  speak  to  them  and  say, 
'We  have  but  a  short  time  to  live,  so  while  we  are 
on  this  trip  let  us  determine  to  be  single-minded. 
Let  us  all  look  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  who  is  the  ruler  over 
all  things,  and  ask  him  to  take  pity  on  us,  and  bless 
our  warpath.  We  must  respect  the  animals  that  the 
ruler  has  made  and  not  kill  any  of  them;  no  birds, 
nor  wolves,  nor  any  creeping  things.'  Not  a  night 
passed  but  that,  after  we  were  seated  in  a  circle, 
I  would  talk  to  the  party,  and  pray,  and  hope  that 
Ti-ra'-wa  would  bless  us  and  take  pity  on  us,  and 
that  we  might  be  the  party  that  would  have  good 
success.  On  my  war  parties  I  had  to  watch  at  all 
times,  even  when  I  was  resting,  to  see  that  my  young 
men  should,  before  they  slept,  pray  to  Ti  ra'-wa 
that  they  might  dream  something  good,  and  that  it 
might  come  to  pass. 

"  The  old  priest  who  had  performed  the  ceremo 
nies,  and  had  let  me  take  the  sacred  things,  had  told 
me  to  kill  a  particular  kind  of  animal,  a  deer,  and 


346  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

sacrifice  it.  I  sent  some  spies  ahead  to  look  over 
the  country,  and  a  messenger  came  back  from  them, 
saying  that  they  had  seen  some  animals.  He  did 
not  describe  them,  and  I  ordered  the  messenger  to 
have  the  hunter  kill  them.  I  heard  the  report  of  a 
gun.  The  hunter  with  two  shots  killed  three.  They 
were  antelope.  When  the  hunter  came  to  me  he 
told  me  what  he  had  done,  and  described  the  ani 
mals  which  he  had  killed.  They  were  not  the  animals 
I  had  been  directed  to  kill  for  the  sacrifice.  I  hesi 
tated,  for  I  did  not  know  what  to  do.  I  did  not 
wish  to  eat  these  animals  before  the  sacrifice  had 
been  made.  To  do  this  is  bad.  It  troubled  me.  I 
was  troubled,  because  if  we  ate  them  it  would  look 
as  if  we  cared  nothing  for  Ti-ra'-wa.  Finally  we 
ate  what  had  been  killed,  and  made  no  sacrifice. 
Afterward  we  killed  two  more  and  ate  them,  and 
still  made  no  sacrifice. 

"  One  night  I  dreamed  that  the  hunter  had  shot  a 
buffalo.  It  fell,  but  as  we  went  up  to  it,  it  got  up 
and  ran  off.  We  went  on  for  eight  days,  and  had 
made  no  sacrifice  to  Ti-ra'-wa.  One  day  my  scouts 
saw  a  man  sitting  on  a  hill.  Some  of  them  wanted 
to  shoot  at  him,  but  the  others  said  'no.'  They 
came  back  to  tell  me  about  it,  and  when  they  had 


War  Parties.  347 

returned  to  the  place  where  they  had  seen  him,  the 
man  was  gone.  The  man  had  seen  my  spies.  Not 
far  off  was  a  village,  and  the  warriors  in  it  came  to 
look  for  us,  but  we  ran  away.  They  hunted  for  us, 
but  we  had  got  out  of  their  sight.  After  this  we 
came  back  home." 

Curly  Chief,  second  chief  of  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i 
band,  is  the  last,  and  he  tells  how  he  sacrificed  a 
scalp: 

"  It  was  in  the  fall,  before  the  winter  buffalo  hunt 
was  made,  that  I  thought  I  would  go  on  the  war 
path.  Every  little  while  I  would  call  a  few  men  to 
sit  down  with  me,  and  would  tell  them  that  I  had  it 
in  mind  to  go  on  the  warpath. 

"  The  people  went  out  on  the  winter  hunt  and  killed 
buffalo,  and  while  they  were  on  their  way  back  to 
the  village,  I  started  on  the  warpath  with  a  number 
of  young  men.  From  the  camp  we  went  south  to 
the  Arkansas  River.  When  we  reached  that  river,  it 
began  to  snow,  and  the  snow  fell  six  feet  deep.  We 
stopped  in  one  place  eleven  days,  till  the  snow  got 
less  deep.  From  there  we  went  on  to  the  sandhills 
by  the  North  Canadian.  One  day  as  we  were  going 
along,  we  saw  far  off  three  Indians  on  foot.  They 


348 


Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 


were  Kiowas.  Probably  they  had  been  on  the  war 
path  and  had  lost  their  horses.  We  attacked  and 
killed  them.  They  did  not  fight.  We  killed  them 
like  women.  Then,  indeed,  we  divided  the  scalps, 


CURLY   CHIEF — KIT-KE-HAHK.'-!. 

and  made  many  of  them.  From  there  we  started 
home,  and  found  the  tribe  camped  on  the  Solomon 
River.  When  we  reached  home  there  was  great  joy, 
and  we  danced  the  scalp  dance. 

"  I  sacrificed  a  scalp  to  Ti-rd-wa.     I  felt  that  he 


War  Parties. 


349 


had  given  me  the  victory  over  my  enemies,  and  for 
this  reason  I  wanted  to  give  him  something,  I  wanted 
to  make  an  acknowledgment  of  his  goodness  to  me. 
He  had  taken  pity  on  me  and  helped  me.  It  was  a 
sacrifice  greater  than  the  sacrifice  of  the  buffalo 
meat.  Not  many  men  have  made  it,  but  once  in  a 
while  you  see  some  one  who  has  been  noticed  by  the 
Ruler.  It  is  our  aim,  after  we  have  been  helped,  to 
give  thanks." 


PAWNEE    DIRT    LODGE. 


RELIGION. 

I.    BELIEFS. 

IT  is  generally  believed  that,  among  the  Indians  of 
North  America,  the  priests  and  the  shamans, 
"medicine  men,"  or  doctors,  are  the  same.  This  is 
not  the  case  with  the  Pawnees.  Among  them  the 
priestly  office  was  entirely  distinct  from  that  of  the 
doctor,  and  had  nothing  in  common  with  it.  The 
priest  was  in  a  sense  the  medium  of  communication 
with  Ti-rd-wa;  he  prayed  to  the  deity  more  effica 
ciously  than  could  a  common  person,  acted,  in  fact, 
as  an  intercessor;  he  knew  the  secrets  of  the  sacred 
bundles,  and  when  he  asked  anything  good  for  the 
tribe,  or  for  an  individual,  it  was  likely  to  be  granted. 
His  education  and  the  power  given  him  from  above 
brought  him  into  specially  close  relations  with 
Ti-ra'-wa,  who  seemed  to  watch  over  him  and  to 


Beliefs.  351 

listen  to  him  when  he  interceded  for  the  tribe.  He 
was  an  intermediary  between  Ti-ra'-wa  and  the 
people,  and  held  a  relation  to  the  Pawnees  and  their 
deity  not  unlike  that  occupied  by  Moses  to  Jehovah 
and  the  Israelites. 

The  office  of  the  "medicine  man,"  shaman  or  doc 
tor,  had  to  do  only  with  sickness  or  injury.  He  was 
the  healer.  Disease  was  caused  by  bad  spirits,  and 
it  was  the  doctor's  part  to  drive  off  these  evil  influ 
ences. 

In  the  lodge  or  house  of  every  Pawnee  of  influ 
ence,  hanging  on  the  west  side,  and  so  opposite  the 
door,  is  the  sacred  bundle  neatly  wrapped  in  buck 
skin,  and  black  with  smoke  and  age.  What  these 
bundles  contain  we  do  not  know.  Sometimes,  from 
the  ends,  protrude  bits  of  scalps,  and  the  tips  of 
pipe  stems  and  slender  sticks,  but  the  whole  contents 
of  the  bundle  are  known  only  to  the  priests  and  to 
its  owner — perhaps,  not  always  even  to  him.  The 
sacred  bundles  are  kept  on  the  west  side  of  the 
lodge,  because,  being  thus  furthest  from  the  door, 
fewer  people  will  pass  by  them  than  if  they  were 
hung  in  any  other  part  of  the  lodge.  Various  super 
stitions  attach  to  these  bundles.  In  the  lodges  where 
certain  of  them  are  kept  it  is  forbidden  to  put  a 


352  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

knife  in  the  fire;  in  others,  a  knife  may  not  be  thrown; 
in  others,  it  is  not  permitted  to  enter  the  lodge  with 
the  face  painted;  or  again,  a  man  cannot  go  in  if  he 
has  feathers  tied  in  his  head. 

On  certain  sacred  occasions  the  bundles  are 
opened,  and  their  contents  form  part  of  the  cere 
monial  of  worship. 

No  one  knows  whence  the  bundles  came.  Many 
of  them  are  very  old;  too  old  even  to  have  a  history. 
Their  origin  is  lost  in  the  haze  of  the  long  ago. 
They  say,  "The  sacred  bundles  were  given  us  long 
ago.  No  one  knows  when  they  came  to  us." 
Secret  Pipe  Chief,  one  of  the  very  oldest  men  in  the 
tribe,  and  its  High  Priest,  said  to  me: 

"All  the  sacred  bundles  are  from  the  far  off  coun 
try  in  the  southwest,  from  which  we  came  long  ago. 
They  were  handed  down  to  the  people  before  they 
started  on  their  journey.  Then  they  had  never  seen 
anything  like  iron,  but  they  had  discovered  how  to 
make  the  flint  knives  and  arrow  points.  There  was 
nothing  that  came  to  us  through  the  whites.  It  all 
came  to  us  through  the  power  of  Ti-ra'-wa. 
Through  his  power  we  were  taught  how  to  make 
bows  and  stone  knives  and  arrow  heads. 

"It  was  through  the  Ruler  of  the  universe  that  the 


Beliefs.  353 

sacred  bundles  were  given  to  us.  We  look  to  them, 
because,  through  them  and  the  buffalo  and  the  corn, 
we  worship  Ti-ra'-wa.  We  all,  even  the  chiefs, 
respect  the  sacred  bundles.  When  a  man  goes  on 
the  warpath,  and  has  led  many  scouts  and  brought 
the  scalps,  he  has  done  it  through  the  sacred  bun 
dles.  There  were  many  different  ceremonies  that 
they  used  to  go  through.  The  high  priest  performs 
these  ceremonies. 

"The  high  priestship  was  founded  in  this  way: 
The  black  eagle  spoke  to  a  person,  and  said  to  him, 
'I  am  one  of  those  nearest  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  and  you 
must  look  to  me  to  be  helped;  to  the  birds  and  the 
animals — look  to  me,  the  black  eagle,  to  the  white- 
headed  eagle,  to  the  otter  and  the  buffalo.' 

"The black  eagle  sent  the  buzzard  as  a  messenger 
to  this  person,  and  he  gave  him  the  corn.  The 
secrets  of  the  high  priestship  and  the  other  secrets 
were  handed  down  at  the  same  time.  The  buzzard, 
because  he  is  bald,  stands  for  the  old  men  who  have 
little  hair.  The  white-headed  eagle  also  represents 
the  old  men,  those  whose  hair  is  white.  These  are 
the  messengers  through  whom  Ti-ra'-wa  sends  his 
words  to  the  people.  The  Wichitas  also  had  these 
secrets,  and  so  have  the  Rees." 


354  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

The  Pawnees  believe  that  they  were  created  by  77- 
rd-wa,  but  that  there  had  been  people  on  the  earth 
before  them.  They  say,  "  The  first  men  who  lived 
on  the  earth  were  very  large  Indians.  They  were 
giants;  very  big  and  very  strong.  The  animals  that 
lived  then  were  the  same  that  we  know  now,  and  of 
the  same  size.  These  giants  used  to  hunt  the  buffalo 
on  foot.  They  were  so  swift  and  strong  that  a  man 
could  run  down  a  buffalo,  and  kill  it  with  a  great 
stone,  or  a  club,  or  even  with  his  flint  knife.  Then, 
when  he  had  killed  it,  if  it  was  a  big  buffalo  bull,  he 
would  tie  it  up,  throw  it  over  his  back,  and  carry  it 
into  camp,  just  as  a  man  to-day  would  carry  in  an 
antelope.  When  one  killed  a  yearling,  he  would 
push  its  head  up  under  his  belt,  and  let  its  body 
swing  by  his  side,  just  as  we  would  carry  a  rabbit. 

"  These  people  did  not  believe  in  Ti-ra'-wa.  When 
it  would  thunder  and  rain,  they  would  shake  their 
fists  at  the  sky  and  call  out  bad  words.  In  these 
days  all  people,  wherever  they  live — all  Indians,  all 
white  men,  all  Mexicans  and  all  black  men — when 
they  smoke  up,  speak  to  A-ti'-us  Ti-ra'-wa,  and  ask 
that  he  will  give  them  the  right  kind  of  a  mind, 
and  that  he  will  bless  them,  so  that  they  may 
have  plenty  to  eat,  and  may  be  successful  in  war, 


Beliefs.  355 

and  may  be  made  chiefs  and  head  men.  When 
we  smoke  toward  the  earth  we  say,  '  Father  of 
the  dead,  you  see  us.'  This  means  that  this  is 
Ti-ra'-wa  s  ground.  It  belongs  to  him,  and  we  ask 
him  that  he  will  let  us  walk  on  it,  and  will  let  us 
be  buried  in  it.  We  believe  that  after  we  are  dead 
we  will  live  again  with  Ti-ra'-wa  up  in  the  sky. 
We  fear  nothing  after  death  worse  than  we  know 
now.  All  will  live  again  with  Ti-ra'-wa  and  be 
happy.  A  thief,  one  who  steals  from  others  in  the 
camp,  one  who  is  bad,  dies,  and  that  is  the  end  of 
him.  He  goes  into  the  ground,  and  does  not  live 
again.  One  reason  why  we  believe  that  there  is  a 
life  after  death  is  that  sometimes,  when  asleep,  we 
dream  and  see  these  things.  We  see  ourselves  living 
with  Ti-ra'-wa.  Then,  too,  we  often  dream  of  our 
people  whom  we  have  known,  and  who  have  died. 
We  dream  of  being  dead  ourselves,  and  of  meeting 
these  people  and  talking  with  them,  and  going  to 
war  with  them. 

"Now,  these  giants  did  not  believe  in  any  of  these 
things.  They  did  not  pray  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  and  they 
thought  that  they  were  very  strong,  and  that  noth 
ing  could  overcome  them.  They  grew  worse  and 
worse.  At  last  Ti-ra'-wa  got  angry,  and  he  made 


356  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

the  water  rise  up  level  with  the  land,  and  all  the 
ground  became  soft,  and  these  great  people  sank 
down  into  the  mud  and  were  drowned.  The  great 
bones  found  on  the  prairie  are  the  bones  of  these 
people,  and  we  have  been  in  deep  cafions,  and  have 
seen  big  bones  under  ground,  which  convinces  us 
that  these  people  did  sink  into  the  soft  ground. 

"  After  the  destruction  of  the  race  of  giants,  Ti-ra'- 
wa  created  a  new  race  of  men,  small,  like  those  of 
to-day.  He  made  first  a  man  and  a  woman.  They 
lived  on  the  earth  and  were  good.  To  them  was 
given  the  corn.  From  this  man  and  this  woman  the 
Pawnees  sprung,  and  they  have  always  cultivated 
the  corn  from  the  earliest  times." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  belief  of  the 
Pawnees  in  a  future  life.  The  spirits  of  the  dead 
live  after  their  bodies  have  become  dust.  The 
stories  of  the  Ghost  Bride  and  the  Ghost  Wife, 
already  given,  are  examples  of  this  belief.  Secret 
Pipe  Chief  told  me  of  himself: 

"I  was  dead  once.  Just  as  I  died,  I  found  my 
way  leading  to  an  Indian  village.  I  entered  it,  and 
went  straight  to  the  lodge  of  my  friends  and  my 
relations.  I  saw  them,  and  when  I  saw  them  I 
knew  them  again.  I  even  knew  my  old  relations, 


Beliefs.  357 

whom  I  had  never  looked  on  when  I  was  alive.  I 
went  into  a  lodge,  but  I  was  not  offered  a  seat,  and 
I  thought  that  I  was  not  welcome.  I  came  out  of 
the  lodge,  and  went  out  of  the  village  toward  the 
west.  Then  I  came  back  to  life  again.  In  the 
morning  I  had  died,  and  I  came  to  life  in  the  after 
noon.  That  must  be  the  reason  that  I  still  live,  and 
am  getting  old.  I  was  not  welcome  yet.  They  did 
not  receive  me.  From  this  I  am  convinced  that 
there  is  a  life  after  we  are  dead." 

Sometimes  ghosts  appear  to  them,  but  more  often 
they  merely  speak  to  them;  only  a  voice  is  heard. 
They  believe  that  the  little  whirlwinds  often  seen  in 
summer  are  ghosts.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
once  a  person  shot  at  a  whirlwind  with  his  arrow. 
The  arrow  passed  through  it,  and  it  all  disappeared 
and  came  to  nothing.  Then  the  man  was  convinced 
that  it  was  a  ghost,  and  that  he  had  killed  it. 
.  The  different  bands  of  the  Pawnees  had  not  all 
the  same  beliefs.  Thus  the  Skidi  band  offered  up 
the  human  sacrifice — a  captive  taken  in  war — to  the 
morning  star.  This  is  thought  to  have  been  a  pro 
pitiatory  offering  to  avert  the  evil  influences  exerted 
by  that  planet.  At  the  present  day  the  Indians 
speak  of  the  sacrifice  as  having  been  made  to  Ti- 


35 8  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

ra'-wa.  None  of  the  other  tribes  had  this  form 
of  worship,  and  in  this  fact  we  have  another  indica 
tion  that  the  separation  of  the  Skidi  from  the  Paw 
nees  had  been  a  long  one.  The  Ka-wa-ra-kish 
band  of  the  Pita-hau-erat,  are  said  to  have  been 
"the  only  ones  of  the  Pawnees  who  did  not  worship 
Ti-ra'-wa.  They  worshiped  toward  the  west." 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  Nahu'rac^  or  ani 
mals,  which  possess  miraculous  attributes  given 
them  by  Ti-ra'-wa.  The  Pawnees  know  of  five 
places  where  these  animals  meet  to  hold  council — 
five  of  these  Nahurac  lodges.  One  of  these  is  at 
Pa-huk',  on  the  south  side  of  the  Platte  River,  op 
posite  the  town  of  Fremont,  in  Nebraska.  The 
word  Pa-huk'  means  "hill  island."  Another  animal 
home  is  under  an  island  in  the  Platte  River,  near 
the  town  of  Central  City.  It  is  called  by  the  Paw 
nees  La-la-wa-koh-ti-to,  meaning  "dark  island." 
The  third  of  these  sacred  places  is  on  the  Loup 
Fork,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Cedar  River,  and 
under  a  high,  white  cut  bank.  It  is  called  Ah-ka-wit- 
akol,  "white  bank."  Another  is  on  the  Solomon 
River,  Kitz-a-witz-uk,  "water  on  a  bank;"  it  is  called 
Pdhowa  sometimes.  This  is  a  mound,  shaped  like 
a  dirt  lodge.  At  the  top  of  the  mound,  in  the  mid- 


Beliefs.  359 

die,  is  a  round  hole,  in  which,  down  below,  can  be 
seen  water.  At  certain  times,  the  people  gather 
there,  and  throw  into  this  hole  their  offerings  to 
Ti-ra'-wa,  blankets  and  robes,  blue  beads,  tobacco, 
eagle  feathers  and  moccasins.  Sometimes,  when 
they  are  gathered  there,  the  water  rises  to  the  top  of 
the  hole,  and  flows  out,  running  down  the  side  of 
the  mound  into  the  river.  Then  the  mothers  take 
their  little  children  and  sprinkle  the  water  over 
them,  and  pray  to  Ti-ra'-wa  to  bless  them.  The 
water  running  out  of  the  hole  often  carries  with  it 
the  offerings,  and  the  ground  is  covered  with  the 
old  rotten  things  that  have  been  thrown  in.  The 
fifth  place  is  a  hard,  smooth,  flinty  rock,  sticking  up 
out  of  the  ground.  They  call  it  Pa-hur'y  "hill  that 
points  the  way."  In  the  side  of  the  hill  there  is  a 
great  hole,  where  the  Nahu'rac  hold  councils. 
This  hill  is  in  Kansas,  and  can  be  seen  from  the 
Burlington  &  Missouri  River  Railroad.  It  is  known 
to  the  whites  as  Guide  Rock.  > 


360  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

II.    CEREMONIES. 

To  describe  satisfactorily  any  considerable  pro 
portion  of  the  religious  ceremonials  of  the  Pawnees, 
would  require  a  more  extended  space  than  is  here  at 
my  command.  Several  of  the  special  ceremonies, 
however,  may  be  mentioned  in  general  terms. 

Like  some  other  tribes  of  the  plains  Indians,  the 
Pawnees  had  a  certain  special  worship  at  the  time  of 
the  first  thunder  in  the  spring.  This  first  thunder 
warned  them  that  winter  was  at  an  end  and  that  the 
time  of  the  planting  was  drawing  near. 

Of  this  worship  a  Chau-i  said  co  me:  "We  all  be 
lieve  in  Ti-ra-wa.  We  know  that  there  is  a  power 
above  that  moves  the  universe,  and  that  he  controls 
all  things.  In  the  old  days  when  they  had  buffalo 
meat,  they  used  to  make  a  sacrifice  at  the  time  of 
the  first  thunder  in  the  spring.  The  next  day  after 
it  had  thundered,  all  the  people  would  go  into  the 
sacred  lodge,  where  the  sacred  bundles  were  kept  at 
that  time.  When  they  had  all  come  together,  the 
priest  would  open  the  bundles  and  take  out  the 
sacred  things,  among  which  were  Indian  tobacco  and 
some  little  pieces  of  scalp  tied  to  a  stick.  Through 
these  sacred  things  we  worshiped,  and  the  sacrifices 


Ceremonies.  361 

were  made  to  the  Ruler  above.  This  seemed  to  be 
a  help  to  us,  and  we  used  to  live,  increase  and  grow 
strong.  Up  north,  when  we  worshiped  at  the  time 
of  the  first  thunder,  we  never  had  cyclones.  Down 
here,  now  that  this  worship  has  been  given  up,  we 
have  them." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  most  important  of  the 
religious  ceremonials  of  the  Pawnees  were  the  burnt 
offering  of  the  animal  and  of  the  scalp.  These  two, 
though  different,  had  yet  the  same  meaning.  In 
each  the  sacrifice  was  an  offering  to  Tt-ra'-wa.  Per 
haps  next  in  importance  to  these  were  the  buffalo 
dance  and  the  corn  dance,  which  were  special  cere 
monies  to  implore  a  blessing  on  the  hunt  and  on  the 
harvest. 

The  first  animal  killed  on  the  hunt  was  sacrificed. 
It  was  necessary  that  this  animal  should  be  either  a 
deer  or  a  buffalo;  the  first  one  killed  on  the  hunt  of 
these  two  kinds.  They  were  not  permitted  to  kill 
any  other  sort  of  an  animal,  save  only  these  two, 
until  after  the  sacrifice  had  been  made. 

When  this  first  animal  had  been  killed,  it  was 
brought  into  the  camp,  and  taken  to  the  sacred 
lodge,  and  there  the  priests  themselves  went  through 
the  secret  ceremonies.  Then  they  divided  the  meat, 


362  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

and  took  a  part  of  it  to  the  southeast  end  of  the  vil 
lage.  There  they  built  a  fire  of  sticks,  and  placed 
the  meat  on  it.  As  the  fire  burned  the  flesh,  the 
whole  tribe  marched  slowly  and  reverently  by  the 
fire,  and  grasped  handfuls  of  the  smoke,  and  rubbed 
it  over  their  bodies  and  arms,  and  prayed,  saying, 
"  Now,  you,  Ti-ra'-wa,  the  Ruler,  look  at  your  child 
ren,  and  bless  them;  keep  them  and  have  mercy 
upon  them,  and  care  for  them."  If  any  could  not 
understand,  such  as  little  children,  their  elders,  who 
did  understand — their  relations — prayed  for  them. 
The  sick  were  carried  out  to  the  place,  and  prayed, 
and  the  smoke  was  rubbed  over  them.  The  young 
men  would  rim  races,  starting  from  a  certain  place, 
and  going  around  the  village  until  they  came  to  the 
place  where  the  smoke  of  the  sacrifice  rose. 

The  sacrifice,  by  burning  of  the  scalp,  was  a  very 
elaborate  performance,  and  occupied  a  whole  day. 
The  high  priest  faced  the  east  and  prayed,  and  sang 
twelve  times.  Descriptions  of  it  given  me  in  general 
terms  indicate  that  this  ceremony  was  extremely  in 
teresting.  It  was  rather  unusual,  but  was  performed 
once  in  1877. 

The  sacrifice  of  the  captive  has  not  been  practiced 
by  the  Skidi  for  a  long  time,  perhaps  forty  or  fifty 


Ceremonies.  363 

years.  Bear  Chief  told  me  that  he  had  witnessed  it 
six  times;  Eagle  Chief,  who  is,  perhaps,  between 
fifty  and  sixty  years  old,  says  he  has  seen  it  once. 
The  old  Skidi  described  the  ceremony  as  follows: 

"  The  Skidi  alone  of  the  Pawnees  sacrificed  human  / 
beings  to  Ti-ra'-wa.  When  they  had  returned  home/ 
from  war  successful,  bringing  captives  with  them, 
they  selected  one  of  these  for  the  sacrifice.  The 
others  were  adopted  into  the  tribe,  but  this  one,  who 
must  be  young  and  stout,  one  who  would  fatten 
easily,  was  kept  apart,  eating  by  himself,  fed  on  the 
best  of  food  and  treated  with  the  greatest  kindness. 
No  hint  of  the  fate  in  store  for  him  was  given  until 
the  day  of  the  sacrifice.  For  four  nights  before 
that  day  the  people  danced;  and  for  four  days  they 
feasted.  Each  day  after  they  had  got  through 
feasting,  the  dishes  were  taken  to  their  especial 
place.  Each  woman,  after  she  got  through  eating, 
rose,  and  said  to  the  prisoner,  'I  have  finished  eat 
ing,  and  I  hope  that  I  may  be  blessed  from  Ti  ra'-wa; 
that  he  may  take  pity  on  me;  that  when  I  put  my 
seeds  in  the  ground  they  may  grow,  and  that  I  may 
have  plenty  of  everything.' 

"At  the  end  of  the  four  days  two  old  men  went, 
one  to  each  end  of  the  village,  and  called  aloud, 


364  Notes  on  the  Pawnets. 

directing  every  male  person  in  the  village  to  make  a 
bow  and  an  arrow,  and  to  be  ready  for  the  sacrifice. 
For  every  male  child  that  had  been  born  a  bow  and 
an  arrow  was  made;  for  the  little  boys  small  bows 
that  they  could  bend  and  small  arrows.  The  arrows 
must  be  feathered  with  the  feathers  of  the  eagle,  or 
of  some  bird  of  prey,  a  hawk,  an  owl  or  an  eagle. 
They  must  not  cut  the  feathers  nor  burn  them  to 
make  them  low. 

"The  next  day,  before  daybreak,  every  one  was 
ready.  All  of  the  warriors,  who  had  led  parties  on 
the  warpath,  took  from  their  sacred  bundles  their 
collars,  made  from  the  feathers  of  the  bird  they 
wore,*  and  put  them  on  their  backs  and  tied  them 
about  their  necks.  They  held  their  pipes  in  their 
left  hands,  to  signify  that  they  were  warriors.  Every 
male  carried  his  bow  and  arrow.  Every  woman  had 
a  lance  or  a  stick.  Just  before  daylight  they  all 
went  out  to  the  west  end  of  the  village,  and  stood 
there  looking  for  the  prisoner  to  be  brought.  Here 
two  stout  posts  had  been  set  up,  one  of  ash  and  the 
other  of  hackberry,  and  between  these  had  been  tied 
four  cross-poles,  the  three  lower  ones  to  aid  in  climb 
ing  up  to  the  highest  of  the  four. 

*The  Purple  Martin,  Progne  subis. 


Ceremonies.  365 

"As  day  broke,  the  people,  looking  back  toward 
the  village,  could  see  the  captive  being  led  toward 
them,  bound  hand  and  foot.  Behind  him,  as  he 
was  led  along,  followed  a  warrior  carrying  the  heart 
and  tongue  of  a  buffalo;  after  him  came  another, 
carrying  a  blazing  stick,  then  one  with  a  bow  and 
arrow,  and  last  a  warrior  with  the  stuffed  skin  of  an 
owl. 

"They  led  the  naked  captive  to  the  posts,  and 
lifting  him  up,  tied  first  the  left  hand  and  then  the 
right  to  the  top  cross-pole,  and  afterward  tied  the 
feet  below.  Every  one  stood  there  silent,  looking, 
waiting;  the  men  holding  their  weapons  and  the 
women  their  sticks  and  lances.  On  the  ground 
under  the  sacrifice  was  laid  the  wood  for  a  great 
fire,  which  was  now  lighted.  Then  the  man  with 
the  blazing  stick  stepped  forward,  but  before  he 
reached  the  captive,  the  warrior  with  the  bow  and 
arrow,  he  who  had  taken  the  captive,  ran  up  close  to 
the  victim  and  shot  him  through  from  side  to  side, 
beneath  the  arms,  with  the  sacred  arrow,  whose 
point  was  of  flint,  such  as  they  used  in  the  olden 
time.  After  the  blood  had  run  down  upon  the  fire 
below,  the  warrior  who  carried  the  buffalo  tongue 
and  the  heart,  placed  them  on  the  fire  beneath  the 


366  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

body.  When  this  had  been  done  the  man  who 
carried  the  owl  ran  up,  and  seized  the  burning  stick 
and  burned  the  body,  once  under  each  arm,  and 
once  in  each  groin,  in  all  four  times.  Then,  at  a 
given  signal,  the  males  all  ran  up,  and  shot  their 
arrows  into  the  body.  If  any  male  children  were 
not  large  enough  to  shoot,  some  one  shot  for  them. 
There  were  so  many  arrows  that  the  body  was  stuck 
full  of  them;  it  bristled  with  them. 

"A  man  chosen  for  this  purpose  now  climbed  up, 
and  pulled  out  all  the  arrows  from  the  body,  except 
the  one  which  was  first  shot  through  the  side  of  the 
sacrifice,  and  placed  them  together  in  a  pile  on  the 
ground,  where  they  were  left.  After  pulling  out  the 
arrows,  this  man  took  his  knife  and  cut  open  the 
breast  of  the  captive,  and  putting  his  hand  in  the 
opening,  took  out  a  handful  of  blood,  and  smeared 
it  over  his  face,  and  then  jumped  to  the  ground,  and 
ran  away  as  fast  as  he  could.  Each  of  the  four  men, 
after  he  had  done  his  part,  ran  away  very  fast,  and 
went  down  to  the  river  and  washed  himself.  When 
this  had  been  done  the  women  came  with  their  sticks 
and  spears  and  struck  the  body  and  counted  coup 
on  it.  Even  the  little  children  struck  it.  After  they 
had  done  this,  they  put  their  sticks  together  on  the 


Ceremonies.  367 

ground  in  a  pile,  and  left  them  there.  By  this  time 
the  fire  was  burning  up  high  and  scorching  the 
body,  and  it  was  kept  up  until  the  whole  body  was 
consumed.  And  while  the  smoke  of  the  blood  and 
the  buffalo  meat,  and  of  the  burning  body,  ascended 
to  the  sky,  all  the  people  prayed  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  and 
walked  by  the  fire  and  grasped  handfuls  of  the 
smoke,  and  passed  it  over  their  bodies  and  over 
those  of  their  children,  and  prayed  Ti-ra'-wa  to 
take  pity  on  them,  and  to  give  them  health,  and 
success  in  war,  and  plenteous  crops.  The  man  who 
had  killed  the  captive  fasted  and  mourned  for  four 
days,  and  asked  Ti-ra'-wa  to  take  pity  on  him,  for 
he  knew  that  he  had  taken  the  life  of  a  human  being. 

"This  sacrifice  always  seemed  acceptable  to  Ti- 
ra'-wa,  and  when  the  Skidi  made  it  they  always 
seemed  to  have  good  fortune  in  war,  and  good  crops, 
and  they  were  always  well. 

"After  the  sacrifice  was  over,  then  came  the  old 
women  to  rejoice  over  what  had  been  done.  They 
would  act  as  the  warriors  used  to  do,  when  coming 
back  from  a  war  party.  They  carried  the  mother 
corn.  They  went  to  the  body  and  counted  coup  on 
it,  and  then  went  back  to  the  village.  Some  of  them 
would  take  the  large  hollow  stalks  of  the  sunflower, 


368  JVotes  on  the  Pawnees. 

and  put  dust  in  them,  and  then  blow  it  out,  pretend 
ing  to  shoot,  the  puff  of  dust  standing  for  the  smoke 
of  a  shot.  They  would  go  up  to  the  secret  lodge, 
and  standing  outside  of  it,  would  tell  the  story  of 
how  they  came  to  go  on  their  pretended  war  party, 
and  what  they  did  while  they  were  gone,  and  what 
enemies  they  struck — the  whole  long  story.  The 
people  meanwhile  would  stand  about  and  laugh  at 
them  as  they  did  these  things.  Imitating  the  war 
riors,  the  old  women  changed  their  names  also. 
One  of  the  leading  old  women  once  took  the  name 
'Mud  on  the  Meat,'  another,  <  Skunk  Skin  Tobacco 
Pouch,'  another  'Sitting  Fish  Old  Man/  another 
'Old  Man  Stepping  on  the  Heart.'  The  old  men 
standing  about  would  joke  with  the  old  women,  and 
these  would  joke  and  make  fun  of  each  other." 

The  different  acts  of  this  sacrifice  appear  to  have 
been  typical  of  the  deeds  and  necessities  of  war 
fare.  Thus  the  feathers  of  the  eagle  used  on  the 
arrows  shot  into  the  captive  represented  success  in 
war.  Their  use  was  a  prayer  to  Ti-ra'-wa  that,  as 
these  birds  were  fierce  and  successful  when  making 
an  attack,  so  those  who  shot  might  be  fierce  in  war 
and  always  conquerors.  The  burning  of  the  body  of 
the  captive  with  the  blazing  stick,  perhaps,  typified 


Ceremonies.  369 

the  lighting  of  the  sacred  pipe,  which  could  only  be 
done  by  one  who  had  sacrificed  a  scalp.  The  shoot 
ing  arrows  into  the  body  by  the  males  and  the 
striking  it  by  the  women  typified  the  killing  of  and 
counting  coup  on  the  enemy.  The  cutting  open  the 
belly  was  the  first  act  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  animal, 
the  burnt  offering. 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  account  differs  in  many 
particulars  from  that  given  by  Mr.  Dunbar  in  his 
papers  on  this  people,  but  I  think  it  worth  recording, 
as  being  an  independent  relation  by  a  very  old  man, 
who,  I  have  no  doubt,  has  been  an  eye-witness  of 
more  than  one  of  these  remarkable  sacrifices. 

I  know  of  no  satisfactory  and  detailed  account  of 
any  of  the  sacred  dances  of  the  Pawnees.  There 
were  many  of  these,  among  them  the  corn  dance,  the 
buffalo  dance,  the  wild  horse  dance,  the  deer,  bear, 
dog  dances  and  so  on.  I  give  below  an  account  of 
the  corn  dance,  as  detailed  to  me  by  Curly  Chief, 
who  said: 

"The  windy  month  [March]  was  the  one  in  which 
Ti-ra'-wa  gave  us  the  seed  to  cultivate.  The  first 
moon  of  April  is  the  one  during  which  they  had  a 
special  worship  about  the  corn.  Until  these  cere 
monies  had  been  performed  no  one  would  clear  out 


370  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

the  patch  where  they  intended  to  plant  the  crop. 
Everybody  waited  for  this  time. 

"  The  Kit-ke-hahk'-i  was  the  only  tribe  in  which  this 
special  ceremony  was  handed  down.  The  Chau-i 
and  Pita-hau-erat  worshiped  with  them.  The  prep 
arations  for  this  dance  are  always  made  by  a  woman. 
She  has  to  think  about  it  a  long  time  before  she  can 
make  up  her  mind  to  undertake  it.  In  making  ready 
for  the  dance,  she  must  furnish  the  dried  meat  made 
from  the  whole  of  a  buffalo,  fat  and  lean,  every  part 
of  it.  The  sack  which  holds  the  heart  she  dries,  and 
fills  it  with  all  the  kinds  of  corn — the  five  colors,  the 
blue  corn,  which  represents  the  blue  sky,  the  red 
corn,  which  stands  for  the  evening  sunset,  the  yellow 
corn,  which  typifies  the  morning  sunrise,  the  white 
corn,  which  stands  for  a  white  cloud,  and  the  spotted 
corn,  which  represents  the  sky  dotted  with  clouds. 
All  these  she  puts  in  the  bag,  placing  in  the  sack 
three  grains  of  each  at  a  time.  On  the  special  day 
which  has  been  fixed  for  the  dance,  she  must  offer 
these  things  to  Ti-ra'-wa.  The  people  are  all 
gathered  together,  the  women  standing  on  the  out 
side  of  the  circle  behind,  and  the  men  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  circle  in  front.  This  is  a  woman's  dance, 
and  yet  the  men  are  there  in  front  of  the  women. 


Ceremonies.  371 

These  men  are  the  leading  warriors  of  the  tribe. 
They  have  been  off  on  the  warpath,  and  in  time  of 
corn  have  gone  to  the  enemy.  They  have  been  suc 
cessful  in  war,  and  therefore  they  are  with  the  women. 
They  stand  about  the  circle  holding  their  pipes  in 
their  left  hands,  showing  that  they  are  leaders  of 
war  parties,  and  each  with  the  skin  of  a  particular 
bird  *  tied  on  top  of  the  head,  showing  that  they  are 
warriors. 

"  The  floor  of  the  lodge  must  be  hard,  and  swept 
as  clean  as  it  can  be.  On  the  left  hand  side  as  you 
look  toward  the  door  is  a  buffalo  skull. 

"  When  the  day  has  come  all  the  people  are  gathered 
together  and  are  standing  about  the  lodge.  The 
high  priest  stands  at  the  back  of  the  lodge  with  the 
sacred  bundles  of  the  three  bands  before  him.  Then 
this  leading  woman  comes  forward,  and  presents  to 
the  high  priest  the  dried  meat  and  the  sack  of  corn, 
and  two  ancient,  sacred  hoes,  made  from  the  shoul 
der-blade  of  a  buffalo,  bound  to  a  handle  by  the 
neck  ligament.  She  places  them  on  the  ground  be 
fore  the  sacred  bundles,  the  corn  in  the  middle,  and 
the  two  hoes  on  either  side.  With  these  things  she 
also  presents  a  sacred  pipe,  filled  and  ready  for  light- 

*  A  Martin,  Progne. 


372  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

ing,  taken  from  a  sacred  bundle.     Then  she  steps 
back. 

"  The  old  high  priest  must  well  know  the  ceremonies 
to  be  performed.  He  prays  to  Ti-ra'-wa  and  lights 
the  sacred  pipe,  blowing  smoke  to  heaven,  to  the 
earth,  and  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass.  While 
the  ceremonies  are  going  on,  the  buffalo  skull  is 
taken  to  the  sacred  place  in  this  lodge,  and  put  in  a 
particular  position.  Then  the  leading  woman  steps 
forward  again,  followed  by  two  others.  She  takes 
the  bag  of  corn,  and  the  other  two  women  take  the 
hoes,  and  they  stand  in  front  of  the  high  priest.  He 
sings  and  prays.  The  leading  woman  stands  in  a 
particular  position,  as  directed  by  the  high  priest, 
holding  the  bag  of  corn  up  to  the  sky  in  both  her 
hands;  and  as  he  sings,  she  raises  and  lowers  it  in 
time  to  the  music  of  the  song. 

"  After  these  ceremonies  the  women  come  forward, 
holding  their  hoes  in  their  hands,  and  dance  about 
the  lodge  one  after  another  in  single  file,  following 
the  leading  woman.  Four  times  they  dance  about 
the  lodge.  She  cannot  pass  the  priest  the  fifth  time. 
These  ceremonies  and  the  songs  and  prayers  were  to 
ask  for  a  blessing  on  the  hunt  and  on  the  corn,  and 
to  learn  whether  they  would  be  blessed  in  both. 


Ceremonies.  373 

After  the  women  had  danced  and  gone  back  to  their 
places,  everybody  looked  on  the  floor  of  the  lodge 
to  see  whether  there  were  any  buffalo  hairs  there.  If 
they  saw  them,  they  all  said,  'Now  we  are  going  to 
be  successful  in  our  hunt  and  in  our  corn.'  Every 
body  said,  'We  are  blessed.' 

"Then  when  they  would  go  out  on  the  hunt  they 
would  find  plenty  of  buffalo,  and  the  messenger  sent 
back  to  the  village  from  the  hunt  would  return  to  the 
camp  and  say,  'We  have  plenty  of  corn.'  If  they 
saw  a  great  many  buffalo  hairs  they  would  get  many 
buffalo;  if  but  few  they  would  get  some  buffalo. 

"The  next  clay  after  these  ceremonies  the  women 
would  begin  to  clear  up  their  patches  and  get  ready 
to  plant  corn.  The  leading  woman  who  prepared 
the  dance  is  respected  and  highly  thought  of.  After 
that  she  is  like  a  chief. 

"This  ceremony  is  the  next  principal  thing  we 
have  after  the  burnt  offering  of  the  animal  and  of 
the  scalp.  We  did  not  invent  this.  It  came  to  us 
from  the  Ruler,  and  we  worship  him  through  it.  He 
gave  us  the  corn  and  blessed  us  through  it.  By  it 
we  are  made  strong. 

"We  are  like  seed  and  we  worship  through  the 
corn." 


374  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

III.     MEDICINE    AND    MYSTERY. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  "medicine  men"  or  doc 
tors  among  the  Pawnees  occupied  a  position  by  them 
selves.  Their  guild  was  entirely  distinct  from  that 
of  the  priests.  A  priest  might  be  a  doctor  as  well, 
but  not  because  he  was  a  priest. 

The  doctors  were  primarily  healers.  Their  func 
tion  was  to  fight  disease.  Like  many  other  savage 
nations,  the  Pawnees  believed  that  sickness  was 
caused  by  evil  spirits,  which  had  entered  into  the 
patient  and  must  be  driven  out  if  he  was  to  recover. 
In  their  treatment  of  injuries  the  doctors  were  often 
singularly  successful.  Major  North  has  cited  for  me 
a  number  of  instances,  in  which  men,  whose  hurts 
had  refused  to  yield  to  the  treatment  of  the  United 
States  Army  surgeons,  had  been  cured  by  Pawnee 
doctors.  Some  of  these  have  been  detailed  else 
where.  As  might  be  imagined,  however,  the  Pawnee 
treatment  of  disease  was  less  efficacious.  Simple 
ailments  were  often  treated  with  success  by  means 
of  the  familiar  sudatory,  or  "sweat  house;"  but  in 
the  case  of  more  serious  complaints,  the  dancing  and 
rattling,  which  constitute  so  large  a  part  of  the  doc 
tor's  treatment,  tend  to  aggravate  rather  than  to 


Medicine  and  Mystery.  375 

check  the  disease.  I  have  not  space  to  discuss  the 
very  interesting  subject  of  the  system  of  therapeutics 
practiced  by  the  Pawnee  doctors.  Mr.  Dunbar  has 
gone  into  this  matter  quite  fully,  and  the  reader  is 
referred  to  his  papers  for  an  account  of  their  practice. 

As  the  doctors  had  to  fight  evil  spirits,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  they  should  have  summoned  magic 
to  their  aid;  but  this  magic  probably  served  its  more 
important  purpose  in  impressing  the  other  Indians 
with  a  belief  in  the  doctors'  powers.  Some  of  the 
performances  which  took  place  at  the  doctors'  dances 
were  very  marvellous,  and  most  of  them  were  quite 
inexplicable  to  those  who  saw  what  was  done.  That 
they  should  have  imposed  on  the  Indian  spectator  is 
perhaps  not  surprising;  but  it  is  further  to  be  noted 
that  clear-headed,  intelligent  white  men,  whose  pow 
ers  of  observation  have  been  highly  trained,  have 
confessed  themselves  wholly  unable  to  explain  these 
startling  performances,  or  to  hazard  a  guess  as  to 
the  means  by  which  they  were  accomplished.  That 
these  things  happened  as  detailed  is  well  authenti 
cated  by  the  testimony  of  many  perfectly  credible 
witnesses. 

Other  masters  of  mystery  are  provided  with  me 
chanical  aids  of  one  kind  or  another — some  apparatus 


376  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

which  assists  them  in  imposing  on  their  audiences, 
by  concealing  certain  objects,  or  certain  acts,  by 
means  of  which  they  cause  things  to  appear  different 
from  what  they  really  are.  The  Pawnee  doctors  had 
nothing  of  this.  Their  dances  were  conducted  by 
naked  men  in  a  ring  surrounded  by  spectators.  The 
floor  of  bare  earth,  packed  hard  and  worn  smooth 
by  the  tread  of  many  feet,  afforded  no  apparent  op 
portunity  for  concealment  or  trickery.  Under  such 
conditions  were  performed  their  mysteries,  a  few  of 
which  I  will  mention  as  they  appeared  to  watchful 
spectators,  distant  not  more  than  twenty-five  or  thirty 
feet,  and  often  much  nearer. 

The  simplest  performances  were  the  swallowing  of 
spears  and  arrows.  These  feats  were  merely  mechan 
ical,  and  were  no  doubt  really  as  they  appeared,  the 
arrows  and  the  spears  being  driven  down  the  gullet 
to  the  distance  of  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches.  In 
stances  occurred  where  men  who  had  swallowed 
arrows  died  from  the  injuries  received  in  the  opera- 
ation.  Bear  Chief,  himself  a  doctor,  and  tattooed 
with  a  bear  on  the  right  side,  told  me  that  it  was 
much  harder  and  more  painful  to  swallow  an  arrow 
than  a  spear. 

Among  the  more  remarkable  performances  wit- 


Medicine  and  Mystery.  377 

nessed  and  vouched  for  by  my  friend,  Captain  L.  H. 
North,  are  the  following: 

Several  men,  representing  elk,  came  into  the  ring, 
and  trotted  about,  so  as  to  be  seen  by  every  one, 
imitating  the  movements  of  those  animals.  To  their 
heads  were  tied  branches  to  represent  horns,  and 
each  wore  an  elk  skin  thrown  over  his  back.  A  doc 
tor  came  into  the  ring,  and  handed  to  the  spectators 
his  arrows,  which  they  examined,  and  found  to  be 
ordinary  arrows  with  the  usual  sheet-iron  points. 
On  receiving  back  the  arrows  from  those  who  had 
examined  them,  the  doctor  pretended  to  hunt  the 
elk,  and  at  length  shot  at  them,  striking  them  in  the 
sides  or  on  the  legs.  The  arrows,  instead  of  pene 
trating  the  flesh,  bounded  back,  some  of  them  flying 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  the  air.  They  appeared  to 
be  shot  with  the  full  force  of  the  bow,  and  when 
picked  up  and  handed  to  the  onlookers,  the  sheet- 
iron  points  were  found  to  be  doubled  back  as  if  they 
had  been  shot  against  a  plate  of  iron,  and  the  shafts 
of  some  of  them  were  split.  The  elk  trotted  away 
and  out  of  the  ring  without  injury. 

A  man,  representing  an  enemy,  came  into  the  ring 
on  foot.  A  doctor  followed,  armed  with  a  hatchet, 
which  he  passed  to  the  spectators  for  examination. 


378  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

It  was  an  ordinary  hatchet  of  the  tomahawk  form. 
On  receiving  back  the  hatchet,  the  doctor  started  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy,  who  fled.  The  doctor  over 
took  him,  and  with  a  vigorous  blow,  sunk  the  hatchet 
up  to  the  handle  in  the  enemy's  skull,  leaving  it  there. 
The  wounded  man  staggered  on,  passing  within  five 
or  six  feet  of  the  ring  of  spectators,  who  plainly  saw 
the  blood  from  the  wound  running  down  the  man's 
face,  and  dripping  from  his  hair  behind.  They  saw 
also  the  gray  brain-matter  oozing  from  the  wound. 
The  wounded  man  was  taken  from  the  ring  into  the 
doctor's  lodge.  A  few  days  later  he  was  seen  about, 
and  in  his  usual  health. 

A  small  boy,  six  or  eight  years  of  age,  was  led 
into  the  ring  quite  naked.  He  was  placed  upon  the 
ground,  and  two  men  sat  upon  him,  one  on  his  chest, 
the  other  on  his  legs.  With  a  knife  an  incision  was 
made  in  his  belly;  one  of  the  doctors  inserted  his 
fingers;  and,  after  feeling  about,  pulled  out  of  the 
cut  what  looked  like  a  portion  of  the  child's  liver. 
This  he  cut  off  and  gave  to  the  other  man,  who.  ate 
it.  The  remainder  of  the  liver  was  crowded  back 
into  the  hole,  and  the  boy  was  carried  off.  Subse 
quently  he  was  seen  about,  apparently  in  good  health. 

A  man  representing  a  bear  came  into  the  ring  and 


Medicine  and  Mystery.  379 

was  pursued  by  a  number  of  Indians,  who  shot  arrows 
at  him  for  some  time,  without  appearing  to  injure 
him.  At  length,  however,  an  arrow  pierced  him 
through  the  bowels,  and  the  wound  was  plainly  seen 
on  each  side.  The  man  fell,  and  appeared  to  be 
dying.  He  was  removed  to  the  lodge,  and  in  a 
short  time  was  entirely  recovered. 

Major  North  saw  one  of  these  bear  performances, 
in  which,  the  pretended  bear  having  attacked  one  of 
his  pursuers,  the  latter  slashed  him  across  the  abdo 
men  with  a  large  knife,  inflicting  a  cut  from  which 
the  bowels  hung  down  so  that  they  dragged  on  the 
ground.  The  bear  was  carried  off,  and  in  a  short 
time  was  healed,  and  went  about  as  usual. 

Major  North  told  me  that  he  saw  with  his  own 
eyes  the  doctors  make  the  corn  grow.  This  was  in 
the  medicine  lodge.  In  the  middle  of  the  lodge,  the 
doctor  dug  up  a  piece  of  the  hard  trodden  floor  of 
the  lodge,  about  as  large  as  a  dinner  plate,  and 
broke  up  between  his  fingers  the  hard  pieces  of  soil, 
until  the  dirt  was  soft  and  friable.  The  ground 
having  thus  been  prepared,  and  having  been  moist 
ened  with  water,  a  few  kernels  of  corn  were  buried 
in  the  loose  earth.  Then  the  doctor  retired  a  little 
from  the  spot  and  sang,  and  as  the  place  where  the 


380  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

corn  was  buried  was  watched,  the  soil  was  seen  to 
move,  and  a  tiny  green  blade  came  slowly  into  view. 
This  continued  to  increase  in  height  and  size,  until 
in  the  course  of  twenty  minutes  or  half  an  hour  from 
the  time  of  planting,  the  stalk  of  corn  was  a  foot  or 
fifteen  inches  in  height.  At  this  point  Major  North 
was  obliged  to  leave  the  lodge,  to  take  out  a  white 
woman  who  was  fainting  from  the  heat,  and  so  did 
not  see  the  maturing  of  the  corn.  All  the  Indians 
and  white  men  who  remained  assured  him  that  the 
stalks  continued  to  grow  until  they  were  of  full 
height,  and  that  they  then  tasseled  out  and  put 
forth  one  or  more  ears  of  corn,  which  grew  to  full 
size,  and  that  then  the  doctor  approached  the  plant, 
plucked  an  ear,  and  passed  it  to  the  spectators. 

Similar  to  this  was  a  feat  performed  with  a  cedar 
berry.  The  berry  was  passed  around  among  the 
spectators  for  examination,  and  was  then  planted  as 
the  corn  had  been.  Then  after  a  few  moments  the 
doctor  approached  the  spot,  put  his  thumb  and  fore 
finger  down  into  the  soft  dirt,  and  seemed  to  lay 
hold  of  something.  Very  slowly  he  raised  his  hand 
and  was  seen  to  hold  on  the  tips  of  his  fingers  the 
end  of  a  cedar  twig.  Slowly  his  hand  was  moved 
from  the  ground,  the  twig  growing  longer  and 


Medicine  and  Mystery.  381 

longer.  When  nine  or  ten  inches  high  it  began  to 
have  side  branches.  The  doctor  still  holding  the 
topmost  twig  of  what  was  by  this  time  a  cedar  bush, 
continued  to  lift  his  hand  very  slowly,  until  it  was 
about  three  feet  from  the  ground,  and  then  let  go  of 
the  bush.  Then  presently  he  took  hold  of  the  stem 
close  to  the  ground,  and,  seeming  to  exert  a  good 
deal  of  force,  pulled  up  the  bush  by  the  roots;  and 
all  the  people  saw  the  bush  and  its  bunch  of  fresh 
and  growing  roots. 

Enough  has  been  said  of  these  mystery  ceremonies 
to  indicate  that  they  were  very  remarkable.  The 
circumstances  under  which  they  were  performed 
would  seem  to  remove  them  from  the  more  common 
place  tricks  of  professional  jugglers.  And  I  have 
never  found  any  one  who  could  even  suggest  an 
explanation  of  them. 

As  might  be  inferred,  these  mysterious  doings 
greatly  impressed  the  Pawnees;  and  the  older  men 
among  them  have  a  vast  store  of  reminiscences  of 
past  dances,  which  they  delight  in  repeating.  In 
the  course  of  a  long  talk  with  Bear  Chief  one 
evening,  he  recounted  a  number  of  instances  which 
he  had  seen.  He  said: 

"A  man  in  our  tribe  was  blind j  he  could  not  see. 


382  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

He  could  travel  in  the  night  as  well  as  we  can  in 
the  day,  but  when  daylight  came  he  could  see  noth 
ing.  At  one  time  he  called  together  his  relations, 
and  told  them  that,  though  blind,  he  wished  to  lead 
out  a  war  party.  He  said,  'I  know  that  I,  with  my 
party,  will  kill  an  enemy.'  They  started  out,  a 
young  man  leading  him  by  the  hand  all  day  long. 
After  they  had  been  out  several  days,  he  told  the 
young  men  to  be  ready,  that  the  next  morning  he 
was  going  to  kill  an  enemy.  The  next  morning, 
while  they  were  traveling  along,  they  saw  an  enemy, 
and  surrounded  and  killed  him.  They  took  the 
scalp  and  brought  it  home,  and  he  had  great  credit, 
because,  being  blind,  he  had  killed  an  enemy.  They 
were  all  surprised  that  a  blind  man  should  have 
killed  an  enemy.  He  sacrificed  the  scalp  to  77- 
ra'-wa,  and  was  made  a  warrior,  and  went  to  the 
sacred  lodge  and  told  the  story  of  his  campaign,  and 
was  made  a  warrior — a  blind  warrior. 

"  It  was  a  wonderful  thing  for  a  blind  person  to  be 
able  to  travel  in  the  night.  This  must  have  come 
from  Ti-ra'-wa. 

"One  of  the  wonderful  things  done 'by  this  man 
was  at  a  medicine  dance.  Everybody  was  there. 
He  stood  up  with  his  bearskin  over  him,  and  was 


Medicine  and  Mystery.  383 

led  out  before  the  people.  A  cedar  branch  was 
given  him,  and  he  sharpened  the  end  where  it  had 
been  cut  off,  and  stuck  it  in  the  ground.  Everybody 
was  now  asked  to  pull  up  this  branch,  and  many 
tried  to  do  so,  but  the  strongest  men  in  the  tribe 
could  not  move  it.  He  could  pull  it  up,  as  if  it  were 
stuck  in  the  mud.  He  thrust  the  pointed  end  in  the 
ground  again,  and  asked  the  doctors  to  pull  up  the 
cedar  branch.  They  tried  to  do  so,  but  could  not  stir 
it.  The  chiefs  also  were  asked  to  try  to  do  this. 
They  tried,  but  could  not  move  it.  Something 
seemed  to  hold  it  in  the  ground.  After  everybody 
had  tried  to  pull  it  up,  and  failed,  this  blind  man 
went  to  it,  and  taking  hold  of  it,  pulled  with  all  his 
strength,  and  pulled  up  with  it  about  six  feet  of 
roots.  There  lay  the  tree  with  all  it  roots  fresh  and 
growing. 

"  There  was,  in  my  young  days,  a  certain  brave 
man  in  the  tribe.  His  name  was  Elk  Left  Behind. 
He  was  so  brave  that,  when  the  Sioux  surrounded  him, 
he  would  kill  so  many  that  he  would  scare  the  rest 
away.  In  one  of  the  doctors'  dances  he  had  the  skin 
of  a  fawn  in  his  hands.  He  called  out  to  the  people, 
'Now,  you  people,  watch  me;  look  close  and  see 
what  I  shall  do,  and  you  will  find  out  what  my 


384  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

bravery  is,  and  that  it  all  comes  from  this  that  you 
see.'  In  our  presence  he  shook  this  fawn  skin,  and 
the  fawn  slipped  out  of  his  hands  and  then  stood 
before  him,  a  living  fawn  looking  at  him.  *  That  is 
what  I  mean,'  said  he.  'If  the  enemies  surround 
me,  that  is  the  way  I  come  out  of  it.  The  fawn  can 
run  so  fast  that  it  can  never  be  caught,  nor  can  it 
ever  be  shot.' 

"This  man  was  wonderful.  He  used  to  imitate 
the  deer  and  the  elk.  He  could  never  be  driven  into 
timber  or  brush,  or  where  there  were  thickets.  He 
said,  'If  I  am  ever  wounded,  it  will  be  when  I  go 
into  timber  or  brush.'  He  always  wanted  to  be  in 
the  open  plain  where  he  could  be  surrounded.  He 
never  ran  to  the  timber  for  shelter. 

"  If  they  suspected  that  the  Sioux  were  coming  to 
attack  the  village,  he  would  load  a  gun  and  shoot  it 
off.  If  the  ball  came  back  to  him,  there  were  no 
Sioux  coming.  If  it  did  not,  then  they  would  be 
coming.  When  I  was  present  it  always  came  back 
to  him.  There  were  no  Sioux  coming. 

"At  one  time  in  the  doctors'  dance  I  saw  him  driv 
ing  ten  young  men,  who  pretended  that  they  were 
deer.  He  had  a  gun  and  loaded  it,  and  shot  the  ten 
men,  one  after  another,  through  the  side.  They  fell 


Medicine  and  Mystery. 


385 


down  wounded,  and  then  got  up  and  limped  off  half 
dying.  He  drove  them  around  the  ring  so  that  the 
people  might  see  their  wounds.  After  they  had 


SUN    CHIEF — KIT-KE-KAHK-I. 


looked  at  them,  he  went  up  to  the  first  and  slapped 
him  on  the  back,  and  the  ball  dropped  out  of  him  on 
to  the  ground,  and  the  man  straightened  up,  healed. 
So  he  did  to  all,  up  to  the  tenth  man,  and  they  were 
all  healed.  This  was  wonderful. 


386  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

"At  one  time  he  wanted  to  show  the  people  that 
he  could  stand  anything.  He  and  two  others  were 
attacked  by  Sioux.  He  said, '  I  want  to  be  wounded; 
let  us  go  to  the  thickets.'  They  did  so,  and  a  Sioux 
shot  him  through  the  back,  and  the  other  two  were 
wounded,  but  he  healed  them  all  after  they  had  got 
away  from  the  Sioux. 

"Another  man  in  the  doctors'  dance  had  four 
young  men  pretend  that  they  were  horses.  All  had 
manes  and  tails,  and  were  painted  to  imitate  horses. 
He  had  a  gun,  to  which  was  tied  a  scalp.  He  loaded 
the  gun,  and  while  he  was  doing  this  the  horses 
ran  off,  and  stood  looking  back  at  the  man.  He 
cocked  the  gun  and  laid  it  on  the  ground  point 
ing  toward  the  horses,  and  placed  the  scalp  near  the 
trigger,  and  walked  some  steps  away.  Then  he 
motioned  to  the  scalp  and  the  gun  went  off,  and  one 
of  the  horses  went  down  wounded.  It  seems  that 
the  ghost  of  the  scalp  obeyed  his  motion,  and  shot 
off  the  gun.  He  loaded  the  gun  again,  and  placed 
it  on  the  ground  as  before.  The  second  time  he 
went  way  off,  and  as  soon  as  he  waved  his  hand  and 
said,  'woohy  the  gun  went  off  and  another  horse 
went  down.  This  was  repeated  until  all  the  horses 
were  down.  The  people  examined  them  and  saw 


Medicine  and  Mystery,  387 

that  they  were  really  wounded  in  the  breast.  The 
man  went  up  to  them  and  they  seemed  to  be  dying 
and  vomited  blood,  and  the  young  man  slapped  them, 
and  the  balls  came  out  of  their  mouths,  and  as  soon 
as  the  balls  came  away  from  them  they  were  healed. 
"There  were  two  people,  a  brother  and  sister, 
children  of  a  man  who  had  been  helped  by  a  bear. 
One  time  when  we  were  having  a  doctors'  dance, 
the  sister  and  brother  came  forward,  each  carrying 
five  cedar  branches  about  three  feet  long.  They 
rolled  a  big  rock  into  the  middle  of  the  lodge,  so 
that  all  might  see  what  they  were  going  to  do. 
Then  they  called  ten  private  men  who  were  not 
doctors,  and  told  them  to  thrust  the  ends  of  the 
branches  into  the  stone  as  if  they  had  grown  there, 
and  they  sang: 

' '  See  the  trees  growing  in  the  rock; 
The  cedar  tree  grows  in  the  rock.' 

"  These  cedar  branches  were  cut  square  off  at  the 
butt,  and  were  set  on  the  stone.  They  were  not  big 
enough  to  be  even  and  balance,  but  still  they  stood 
upright,  as  if  grown  from  the  rock.  The  doctors 
tried  to  blow  them  down  with  their  fans  made  of 
eagle  feathers,  but  they  could  not  do  it.  You  could 
not  blow  them  off  nor  pull  them  off.  At  length  the 


388  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

men  who  put  them  there  were  told  to  take  them  off 
They  had  hard  work  to  do  it,  but  at  last  they  suc 
ceeded. 

"The  sister  (I  saw  her  do  it)  put  her  hands  up  to 
the  sun,  and  then  putting  them  on  the  ground  and 
scratching  and  throwing  up  dust,  she  would  take  up 
her  hands,  and  have  hands  like  a  bear,  with  hair  and 
long  claws. 

"She  used  to  understand  how  to  make  plums  and 
other  fruits  grow  on  trees.  She  supplied  the  doctors 
with  choke  cherries  and  plums.  The  doctors  had 
trees  brought  in  that  had  no  fruit  on  them.  She 
would  make  the  plums  grow,  and  shaking  the  tree, 
they  would  fall  down,  and  everybody  would  have  a 
taste  of  them.  This  was  at  a  doctors'  dance." 


A    PARFLECHE. 


LATER   HISTORY. 

I.    REMOVAL  TO  THE  INDIAN  TERRITORY. 

THE  project  of  removing  the  Pawnees  from 
their  reservation  on  the  Loup  River  in 
Nebraska  appears  to  have  been  first  heard  of  in 
the  year  1872.  The  Pawnee  reservation  was  close 
to  civilization,  and  the  settlers  moving  west  into 
Nebraska  coveted  the  Indians'  lands.  It  was  the 
old  story,  the  same  one  that  has  been  heard  ever 
since  the  rapacious  whites  first  set  foot  on  the  shores 
of  this  continent. 

The  Pawnees  were  strongly  attached  to  their 
home  in  Nebraska.  They  had  always  lived  there, 
and  were  used  to  it.  Their  forefathers  were  buried 
there.  Up  to  the  winter  of  1873-74  they  had  no 
idea  of  moving.  But  they  were  constantly  being 
subjected  to  annoyances. 

Settlers  crowded  in  close  to  the  Pawnee  agency, 


39°  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

and  even  located  on  it  on  the  south  and  east,  and  in 
the  most  matter  of  fact  way  drove  their  teams  into 
the  Pawnee  timber,  and  cut  and  carried  off  the  Paw 
nee  wood,  on  which  the  tribe  depended  for  fuel  and 
for  building  materials.  This  open  robbery  gave 
rise  to  constant  disputes  and  bickerings  between  the 
Indians  and  the  whites,  in  which  the  former  were  in 
variably  worsted.  On  the  south  and  east  side  of  the 
reservation  the  crowding  and  the  depredations  were 
continuous.  On  the  north  and  west  the  reservation 
was  exposed  to  frequent  incursions  from  the  different 
bands  of  Sioux.  War  parties  came  down  from  their 
reservations,  stole  the  Pawnees'  horses,  killed  their 
women  while  at  work  in  the  fields,  and  sometimes 
even  attacked  the  village.  These  attacks,  though 
always  successfully  repelled  by  the  Pawnees,  were  a 
continual  source  of  annoyance  and  irritation  to  them, 
while  their  consistent  desire  to  obey  the  rules  laid 
down  for  their  guidance  by  the  Government  pre 
vented  them  from  retaliating  in  kind  upon  their 
enemies. 

The  first  proposition  to  remove  the  Pawnees  to 
the  Indian  Territory  originated  with  the  whites,  but 
there  is  some  reason  to  think  that  an  independent 
movement  with  the  same  object  in  view  was  made  by 


Removal  to  the  Indian   Territory.  391 

members  of  the  Pawnee  tribe.  As  nearly  as  I  can 
learn  from  conversation  with  Indians  who  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  movement,  this  project  for  a  re 
moval  of  a  part  of  the  tribe  to  the  south  originated 
with  Lone  Chief,  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i;  and  was  taken 
up  and  supported  by  Left  Hand,  known  also  as  Spot 
ted  Horse,  a  turbulent  spirit,  who  was  killed  a  few 
years  ago  by  an  United  States  marshal;  and  by  Frank 
White,  an  intelligent  soldier  of  the  Chau-i  band. 

In  the  summer  of  1870,  Lone  Chief  led  a  visiting 
party,  which  is  said  to  have  numbered  three  hundred 
men,  south  to  the  Wichitas.  When  this  party  turned 
back  to  go  north  in  the  fall,  many  of  them  were  sick 
with  chills  and  fever — a  disease  unknown  to  them 
until  that  time — and  some  died  on  the  way.  At  this 
time  the  notion  of  the  removal  had  not  been  sug 
gested,  but  it  is  probable  that  even  then  Lone  Chief 
was  considering  the  advisability  of  moving  south  with 
his  own  immediate  family,  and  taking  up  his  resi 
dence  with  the  Wichitas.  He  had  not  yet  spoken  of 
this  project,  however,  but  in  the  winter  of  1871-72 
he  announced  his  intention  of  doing  this,  and  even 
started  on  his  journey,  but  for  some  reason  turned 
back. 

The  next  winter — 1872-73 — while  the  tribe  was 


392  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

absent  on  the  buffalo  hunt,  the  northern  Sioux  came 
down  and  stole  from  the  Pawnees  a  number  of 
horses.  This  made  the  Pawnees  uneasy,  and  some 
war  parties  started  out.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Lone 
Chief  conceived  the  idea  of  increasing  the  company 
which  should  proceed  south  with  him.  After  some 
consideration  and  consultation,  Lone  Chief,  Spotted 
Horse  and  Frank  White  planned  that  a  small  party 
should  go  south,  and  visit  the  different  tribes  in  the 
Indian  Territory,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  how 
these  tribes  would  regard  a  general  movement  of 
the  Pawnees  down  into  their  country.  The  plan  was 
not  fully  developed  until  this  small  party,  of  which 
Spotted  Horse  and  Frank  White  were  the  leaders, 
was  on  its  way. 

The  party  visited  first  the  Otoes  and  Kaws,  and 
then  going  south  came  to  the  Wichitas,  Comanches, 
Kiowas  and  Apaches,  and  were  everywhere  hospit 
ably  entertained,  and  given  presents  of  horses.  They 
asked  the  chiefs  and  headmen  of  the  various  tribes 
which  they  visited  to  come  together  at  a  certain 
specified  time  at  the  Wichita  camp,  telling  them  that 
they  had  something  that  they  wished  to  say  to  them 
there.  The  Pawnees  then  returned  to  the  Wichita 
village,  and  awaited  the  appointed  time. 


Removal  to  the  Indian  Territory.  393 

Soon  the  representatives  of  the  different  tribes 
began  to  arrive.  Day  after  day  they  kept  coming  in, 
until  all  were  present.  When  they  had  assembled  in 
council,  Spotted  Horse  rose  to  speak.  He  said,  "My 
brothers,  I  want  you  to  know  one  thing — We,  the 
Pawnees,  want  to  be  brothers,  and  to  be  at  peace.  I 
have  made  up  my  mind  to  come  down  here  with  my 
party  of  Pawnees  to  live  with  you." 

The  chiefs  representing  the  different  tribes  all  ex 
pressed  their  satisfaction  at  this  announcement,  and 
urged  him  to  come  as  he  had  intended.  They  said, 
"We  have  good  land  here,  and  lots  of  buffalo.  We 
shall  be  glad  if  you  decide  to  come."  After  all  had 
spoken,  Spotted  Horse  again  stood  up  and  said, 
"  brothers,  there  is  here  with  me  one  leading  man 
among  the  Pawnees.  He,  also,  will  tell  you  what  he 
thinks  about  this."  Frank  White  then  spoke  and 
said  that  he  intended  to  accompany  Spotted  Horse 
when  he  should  move  south.  The  chiefs  of  the  dif- 
f:rent  tribes  again  expressed  the  hope  that  they 
v:o:ild  carry  out  their  intentions,  and  arrangements 
-.vcre  made  with  the  tribes  that  they  should  come 
down  and  live  with  them. 

It  is  stated  that  just  before  this  visiting  party 
started  north  toward  their  home,  news  came  from  the 


394  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

Pawnee  agency  that  the  tribe  had  been  attacked  and 
massacred  on  the  Republican  River  by  Sioux,  and  as 
they  journeyed  north  they  learned  the  details  of  the 
occurrence.  On  reaching  the  village,  Spotted  Horse 
and  Frank  White  reported  to  Lone  Chief  and  to 
their  families  what  they  had  done,  and  their  action 
was  confirmed.  The  chiefs  of  the  tribe  and  the 
agent  were  then  notified.  Soon  afterward  a  general 
council  was  held,  at  which  public  announcement  of 
their  intention  was  made  by  these  three  men.  To 
most  of  those  present  the  project  was  wholly  new, 
and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  confusion  in  the  coun 
cil,  the  people  exclaiming  at  the  news  and  discus 
sing  it. 

Efforts  were  made  by  the  chiefs  of  the  bands  to 
dissuade  those  who  proposed  to  move.  The  Head 
Chief,  Pi'ta  Lc-shar,  tried  to  persuade  Frank  White 
not  to  leave  the  tribe,  but  he  said  that  he  had  prom 
ised,  and  he  should  go. 

In  the  autumn  of  1873,  Lone  Chief,  Spotted  Horse 
and  Frank  White,  accompanied  by  their  personal  fol 
lowing,  started  south.  With  them  went  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  tribe.  The  three  leaders  had  a  pass 
from  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  at  the 
Pawnee  agency.  The  chiefs  of  the  tribe  were  still 


Removal  to  the  Indian   Territory.  395 

bitterly  opposed  to  the  notion  of  the  removal,  and 
Pi'taLe-shar,  the  Head  Chief,  exerted  all  his  influence 
to  prevent  the  movement.  After  the  migrating  party 
had  gone  about  fifty  miles,  messengers  from  the 
chiefs  overtook  them,  directing  them  to  return  to  the 
village.  The  march  was  stopped,  and  the  three 
leaders,  as  delegates,  returned  to  the  agency  to  learn 
the  cause  of  the  order.  They  reached  there  in  the 
evening,  and  spent  the  whole  night  conferring  with 
the  agent  (Burgess),  to  whom  they  gave  presents  to 
persuade  him  to  accede  to  their  request  to  continue 
their  journey.  Lone  Chief  was  the  most  determined, 
and  insisted  that  they  should  be  permitted  to  go  on 
without  interference. 

At  length  the  authorities  yielded,  and  a  new  pass 
having  been  given  them,  they  returned  to  the  camp. 
The  responsibility  of  taking  away  so  large  a  part  of 
the  tribe  was  weighing  heavily  on  these  three  men, 
however,  and  they  determined  to  send  back  all  except 
their  own  families.  On  reaching  the  camp,  therefore, 
they  told  the  Indians  that  they  all  were  to  go  back, 
but  hid  their  own  horses,  pretending  that  they  had 
strayed  off,  so  that  the  main  body  would  start  back 
without  them.  After  the  others  had  moved  out  of 
camp  on  their  return  march  to  the  agency,  the  lost 


396  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

horses  were  at  once  found,  and  the  three  men  with 
their  families  went  on  south. 

The  following  year  all  the  tribe  followed,  except 
the  Skidi,  Lone  Chief,  and  a  few  personal  friends, 
who  still  refused  to  leave  the  old  reservation.  This 
small  company  remained  in  their  old  home  one  year 
longer,  and  then  they,  too,  went  south  to  their 
present  reservation. 

Shortly  before  the  removal  of  the  tribe  to  the 
Indian  Territory  in  1874,  Pi'ta  Le-shar,  the  Head 
Chief,  was  shot,  and  died  from  his  wound.  It  has 
been  stated,  and  generally  believed,  that  his  death 
resulted  from  the  accidental  discharge  of  his  own 
pistol,  but  there  are  well-informed  persons  who 
believe  that  he  was  murdered.  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  shot  did  not  come  from  his  own 
weapon,  but  that  he  was  shot  by  a  white  man  in  order 
to  get  rid  of  his  influence,  which  was  consistently 
exerted  to  keep  the  Pawnees  in  their  northern  home. 
The  Chief's  wound  was  not  a  serious  one,  and  he 
was  doing  well  under  the  charge  of  a  white  surgeon, 
when  he  was  induced  to  put  himself  in  the  care  of  a 
Pawnee  doctor,  under  whose  treatment  he  died. 

Ti-ra'-wa  Le-shar,  another  bitter  opponent  of  re 
moval,  had  been  killed  in  1873;  and  the  death  of 


Present  Condition  and  Progress.  397 

Pi'ta  Le-shar  left  Lone  Chief,  Skidi,  the  only  man  of 
strong  character  to  oppose  the  movement. 

The  full  history  of  the  plot  to  eject  the  Pawnees 
from  their  northern  home  may  never  be  recorded,  for 
there  are  few  men  alive  who  know  the  facts.  If  it 
should  be  written  there  would  be  disclosed  a  care 
fully  planned  and  successfully  carried  out  conspiracy 
to  rob  this  people  of  their  lands.  This  outrage  has 
cost  hundreds  of  lives,  and  an  inconceivable  amount 
of  suffering,  and  is  another  damning  and  inefface 
able  blot  on  the  record  of  the  American  people, 
and  one  which  ought  surely  to  have  had  a  place  in 
Mrs.  Jackson's  "Century  of  Dishonor." 

II.    PRESENT    CONDITION    AND    PROGRESS. 

During  the  first  four  years  of  their  sojourn  in  the 
Indian  Territory  the  condition  of  the  Pawnees  was 
most  miserable. 

They  had  left  the  high,  dry,  sandy  country  of  the 
Loup,  and  come  south  into  the  more  fertile,  but  also 
more  humid  country  of  the  Indian  Territory,  where 
they  found  a  region  entirely  different  from  that  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed.  Soon  after  their 
settlement  on  their  new  reservation,  they  were  at- 


398  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

tacked  by  fever  and  ague,  a  disease  which  had  been 
unknown  to  them  in  their  northern  home,  and  many 
of  them  died,  while  all  were  so  weakened  by  disease 
and  so  discouraged  by  homesickness  that  their  nature 
seemed  wholly  changed.  They  lost  their  old  spirit 
and  their  energy,  and  were  possessed  only  by  a 
desire  to  return  to  their  northern  home.  This  was, 
of  course,  impossible,  since  their  old  reservation  had 
been  thrown  open  to  settlement,  and  in  part  occupied 
by  the  whites.  During  the  first  ten  years  of  their 
sojourn  in  the  Territory  more  than  one  of  the  agents 
appointed  to  look  after  the  Pawnees  were  either  in 
competent  or  dishonest,  so  that  the  people  suffered 
from  lack  of  food,  and  some  of  them  even  starved  to 
death.  They  were  miserably  poor,  for  they  did  not 
know  how  to  work,  and  no  one  tried  to  encourage 
or  help  them  to  do  so.  The  few  horses  which  they 
had  were  stolen  from  them  by  white  horse  thieves, 
and  they  were  now  in  a  country  and  under  conditions 
where  they  could  not  practice  their  old  war  methods. 
The  tribes  against  which  their  expeditions  had  once 
been  made  were  now  their  neighbors  and  their 
friends. 

When  Major  North  and  his  brother  Luther  visited 
the  agency  in   1876,  to   enlist  scouts   for   General 


Present  Condition  and  Progress.  399 

Crook's  northern  campaign,  they  found  the  Pawnees 
in  a  pitiable  condition.  They  were  without  food, 
without  clothing,  without  arms  and  without  horses. 
Their  sole  covering  consisted  of  cotton  sheets,  which 
afforded  no  protection  against  cold  and  wet.  It  is 
not  strange  that  under  such  circumstances  the  peo 
ple  died  off  fast.  At  this  time  Major  North  had 
orders  to  enlist  only  one  hundred  scouts,  but  he  was 
greatly  perplexed  in  selecting  his  men,  for  four  hun 
dred  wanted  to  go  with  him.  Every  able-bodied 
man  in  the  tribe,  and  many  who  were  not  able-bodied, 
tried  to  get  their  names  on  the  muster  roll.  Each 
man,  at  any  cost,  sought  to  get  away  from  the  suffer 
ing  of  his  present  life;  from  the  fever  that  made  him 
quake,  the  chill  that  caused  him  to  shiver,  and  above 
all  from  the  deadly  monotony  of  the  reservation  life. 
After  Major  North  had  enlisted  his  quota  of  men 
and  started  with  them  on  his  way  north,  more  than 
a  hundred  others  followed  him  on  foot  to  Arkansas 
City,  in  the  hope  that  he  could  be  persuaded  to  in 
crease  his  force,  or  else  that  some  of  those  enlisted 
would  drop  out  through  sickness,  and  there  might  be 
room  for  others. 

The  wretched  condition  of  the  Pawnees  continued 
up  to  about  1884  or  1885.    Before  this  time  the  peo- 


400  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

pie  had  become  in  a  measure  acclimated  in  their 
new  home,  and  had  come  to  realize  that  it  was  abso 
lutely  necessary  for  them  to  go  to  work  if  the  tribe 
was  to  continue  to  exist.  They  began  to  work;  at 
first  only  a  few,  but  gradually  many,  of  the  Skidi, 
and  then  the  Chau-i  and  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i.  Presently 
a  point  was  reached  where  it  was  no  longer  necessary 
to  issue  them  Government  rations.  They  raised 
enough  on  their  farms  to  support  themselves.  Each 
year  of  late  they  have  done  better  and  better.  A 
drought  one  season,  and  a  cyclone  another,  destroyed 
their  crops,  but,  undiscouraged  and  undaunted,  they 
push  ahead,  striving  earnestly  to  become  like  white 
men.  The  Pita-hau-erat  are  the  least  progressive  of 
the  four  bands,  and  many  of  them  still  live  in  dirt 
lodges,  and  cultivate  patches  of  corn  scarcely  larger 
than  those  tilled  in  their  old  villages;  but  as  the 
other  bands  advance,  and  as  the  results  of  manual 
labor  are  seen  and  understood  by  those  who  are 
more  idle,  they,  too,  will  catch  the  spirit  of  progress, 
and  will  lay  hold  of  the  plow. 

Last  March,  as  I  drove  along  toward  the  agency, 
and  as  we  came  in  sight  of  Black  Bear  Creek,  I 
was  surprised  to  see  what  looked  like  good  farm 
houses  dotting  the  distant  bottom.  A  nearer  view 


Present  Condition  and  Progress.  401 

and  a  closer  investigation  showed  me  that  the  most 
well-to-do  of  the  Pawnees  live  in  houses  as  good  as 
those  of  many  a  New  England  land  owner,  and  very 
much  better  than  those  inhabited  by  new  settlers  in 
the  farther  West.  Many  of  them  have  considerable 
farms  under  fence,  a  barn,  a  garden  in  which  vege 
tables  are  raised,  and  a  peach  orchard.  They 
realize  that  as  yet  they  are  only  beginning,  but  to 
me,  who  knew  them  in  their  old  barbaric  condition, 
their  progress  seems  a  marvel.  Nowadays  by  far 
the  greater  number  of  the  Pawnees  wear  civilized 
clothing,  ride  in  wagons,  and  send  their  children  to 
the  agency  school.  They  are  making  rapid  strides 
toward  civilization,  just  such  progress  as  might  be 
expected  from  the  intelligent  and  courageous  people 
that  they  are  and  always  have  been. 

The  Pawnees  receive  from  the  Government  a  per 
petual  annuity  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  of  which 
one-half  is  paid  in  money,  and  one-half  in  goods. 
Besides  this  they  have  a  credit  with  the  Government 
of  about  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars 
(the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  their  old  reservation  in 
Nebraska),  on  which  they  receive  interest;  and  for 
some  years  past  they  have  leased  to  cattlemen  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  acres  of  their 


402  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

reservation,  for  which  they  receive  about  three 
thousand  eight  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  in  addition  to  the  crops  which  they 
raise,  the  tribe  is  fairly  well  provided  with  money. 
While  a  considerable  part  of  this  is,  of  course,  wasted, 
being  spent  for  trifles  and  for  luxuries,  it  is  neverthe 
less  the  fact  that  a  certain  proportion  of  it  is  invested 
by  the  Indians  in  tools,  farming  implements,  and  in 
furniture.  Three  years  ago  the  Indians  merely 
dropped  their  corn  into  the  furrow,  while  some 
planted  with  a  hoe.  There  was  then  only  one  corn- 
planter  on  the  reservation.  Now  there  are  thirteen 
of  these  implements  of  improved  pattern,  bought  by 
the  Indians,  and  paid  for  with  their  own  money. 
Reapers  and  mowers  belong  to  the  Indian  Depart 
ment,  and  are  loaned,  not  issued,  and  these  pass 
round  from  one  family  to  another.  Within  the  last 
four  years  one  hundred  breaking  and  stirring  plows 
have  been  issued,  and  one  hundred  and  five  double 
shovel  cultivators.  Eighty  wagons  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  sets  of  harness  have  been  issued  in  the  same 
length  of  time.  Besides  these,  eight  two-horse  cul 
tivators  are  loaned  them  by  the  Government. 

The  Pawnees  seem  to  be  saving  up  their  money  to 
put  into  farming  implements,  and  they  are  looking 


Present  Condition  and  Progress.  403 

ahead.     Two-thirds  of  the  houses  built  in  the  last 
three  years  have  been  built  by  the  Chau-i,  who  are 

pushing  the  Skidi   hard   in   their   advance  toward 
civilization. 

The  following  table,  taken  from  the  official  papers 
of  the  Indian  Bureau,  gives  some  statistics  as  to  the 
progress  made  by  the  Pawnees  during  the  last  three 
years: 

1885.  1886.           1887.  1888. 

Number  of  Indians i,°45  998            918  869 

Number  of  male  Indians 483            414  .... 

Number  of  female  Indians 515             504  .... 

Number  speaking  English 289          ....  225 

Number  can  read  (youths) 100              90  100 

Number  can  read  (adults) 58              60  75 

Number    wearing    citizen's 

dress  wholly 300            350  200 

Number    wearing    citizen's 

dress  in  part 400            450  600 

Number  doing  some  farming    ....  324            400  *I2$ 
Number  having  other  civil 
ized  work 5                 6  *  7 

Number  of  births 28              45  54 

Number  of  deaths 77             125  106 

Houses  occupied  by  Indians    ....  61              82  98 
Proportion  of  Indians  self- 
supporting %           yz  ^ 

Farming  operations — 
Number  of  acres  cultivated 

by  Indians 971  1,360         2,094  2,560 

Number  of  acres  broken  by 

Indians 67            310  340 

*  Families. 


404 


Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 


26,120   30,000 

60,000 

640 

2,300 

100  Est.2,500 

.... 

50     TOO 

150 

500 

750 

50,000   50,000 

.... 

5,000    

.... 

1885.  1886.  1887.         1888. 

Number  of  acres  under  fence      400        1,597        2,597        5,200 
Number  of  rods  fencing  put 

up  during  year 200         4,435         2,181         2,975 

Produce  raised  by  Indians — 

Number  bushels  of  wheat..   1,177         I»273         5,ooo        2,500 
Number   bushels   of    corn, 

estimated 35,ooo 

Number  bushels  of  oats . .  .  969 
Number  bushels  of  potatoes.  100 
Number  bushels  of  onions.  10 
Number  bushels  of  beans. .  300 

Number  of  melons 5,225 

Number  of  pumpkins 3,ooo 

Number  tons  of  hay 500          ....  600  800 

Live  stock  owned  by  Indians — 

Horses,  estimated 1,200        1,400        1,500 

Mules,  estimated 15  20  20  25 

Cattle,  estimated 300  380  575  500 

Hogs,  estimated 100          ....  200          .... 

Fowls,  estimated 200        2,500        2,500        3,000 

Twelve  allotments  of  land  made  1888.  Whole  number  allot 
ments  to  date  (1888),  175.  In  1885  Indians  sawed  50,050  feet 
of  lumber,  and  cut  126  cords  of  wood. 

In  1886  the  Indians  hauled  83,814  pounds  of  freight,  for 
•which  they  were  paid  $541.54. 

During  the  year  1888  three  Indian  apprentices  learned  a 
trade. 

Besides  the  crops  raised,  the  Indians  during  1888  sawed 
50,000  feet  of  lumber,  and  cut  300  cords  of  wood. 

In  1886  a  severe  cyclone  and  hail  storm  destroyed  the 
growing  crops,  and  in  1887  a  prolonged  drought  again  ruined 
them.  During  these  two  years  it  was  necessary  to  issue  to  the 
Indians  half  rations  and  one-third  rations  respectively.  This 
year  (1888-89)  no  rations  have  been  issued. 


Present  Condition  and  Progress.  405 

As  will  be  seen  by  these  figures,  corn  is  the  prin 
cipal  crop  raised  by  the  Pawnees,  and  a  large  part  of 
the  surplus  beyond  their  own  wants  is  sold  at  from 
twenty-five  to  fifty  cents  a  bushel  to  the  dealers  in 
Arkansas  City,  or  to  the  cattlemen  in  the  neighbor 
hood.  The  Pawnees  have  as  yet  few  cattle,  their  old 
meat-eating  habits  have  not  yet  been  overcome,  and 
there  is  a  tendency  among  them  to  eat  any  cattle  they 
may  obtain  rather  than  to  use  them  for  breeding  pur 
poses.  They  ought  to  be  encouraged  to  keep  cattle, 
to  which  they  could  feed  their  corn,  and  in  this  way 
obtain  a  better  return  for  their  labor  than  is  yielded 
by  the  direct  sale  of  the  grain.  They  are  fairly  well 
provided  with  horses,  but  most  of  these  are  small, 
and  of  the  old-fashioned  Indian  pony  type.  They 
should  be  encouraged  to  raise  a  better  class  of 
horses,  and  at  least  two  well  bred  heavy  stallions 
should  be  kept  by  the  Government  at  Pawnee  for 
Indian  use.  There  is  one  now  at  Ponca,  thirty-five 
miles  away,  but  the  Pawnees  will  not  take  their  mares 
so  far. 

Much  of  the  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the 
Pawnees  has  taken  place  within  the  last  three  years, 
and  much  of  it  has  been  due,  as  I  believe,  to  the 
wisdom  and  judgment  of  Major  Osborne,  their  agent, 


406  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

and  to  the  Messrs.  McKenzie,  who  have  for  three 
years  or  more  been  the  clerks  directly  in  charge  of 
these  people.  These  gentlemen  appear  to  have  been 
honest  and  firm,  and  yet  helpful  in  their  treatment  of 
the  people  under  their  charge,  and  the  results  of  their 
administration  show  for  themselves,  and  are  some 
thing  in  which  these  officials  may  feel  a  just  pride. 

Few  and  rapidly  diminishing  in  numbers  as  are  the 
Pawnee  people,  I  have  yet  confidence  that  by  the 
innate  strength  of  their  character  their  decline  may 
be  checked,  and  their  race  may  rise  again.  It  can 
never  do  so  in  its  old  purity.  It  must  take  to  itself 
fresh  blood  from  other  stocks,  and  thus  renew  its 
vitality.  What  I  hope  for  the  Pawnee,  to-day  and  in 
the  future,  is  that  the  native  vigor  of  the  race,  the 
strong  heart  and  singleness  of  purpose,  which  in 
ancient  times  led  the  wild  brave  to  success  on  his 
warpath,  and  gave  his  tribe  so  high  a  place  among 
the  savage  warriors  of  the  plains,  may  now  be  exer 
cised  in  the  pursuits  of  peace;  and  that  the  same 
qualities  may  give  to  these  earnest  toilers,  as  they 
tread  new  paths,  strength,  courage  and  endurance  to 
hold  a  front  rank  among  those  Indians,  who,  to-day 
so  far  behind,  are  nevertheless  resolutely  setting 
their  steps  toward  a  place  with  civilized  people. 


Present  Condition  and  Progress.  407 

But  whatever  the  fate  of  the  Pawnee  people — . 
whether,  like  so  many  other  native  stocks,  it  shall 
dwindle  away  and  disappear,  leaving  behind  it  no 
reminder  of  its  existence,  or  whether  its  native  force 
shall  enable  it  under  its  new  conditions  to  survive  and 
make  some  mark — we  may  remember  it  always  as  a 
race  of  strong,  brave  people,  whose  good  qualities 
are  deserving  of  more  than  a  passing  tribute. 


* 
*        * 


It  was  the  last  day  of  my  stay  at  the  Pawnee 
agency.  I  had  seen  many  an  old  friend;  had  laughed 
and  jested  with  some  over  incidents  of  former  years, 
and  with  others  had  mourned  over  brave  warriors  or 
wise  old  men  who  were  no  longer  with  us.  My  visit 
had  been  full  of  pleasure,  and  yet  full  of  pain 
When  I  had  first  known  the  tribe  it  numbered  more 
than  three  thousand  people,  now  there  are  only  a 
little  more  than  eight  hundred  of  them.  The 
evidences  of  their  progress  toward  civilization  are 
cheering.  They  are  now  self-supporting.  They  no 
longer  die  of  hunger.  But  the  character  of  the 
people  has  changed.  In  the  old  barbaric  days  they 


408  Notes  on  the  Pawnees. 

were  light-hearted,  merry,  makers  of  jokes,  keenly 
alive  to  the  humorous  side  of  life.  Now  they  are 
serious,  grave,  little  disposed  to  laugh.  Then  they 
were  like  children  without  a  care.  Now  they  are 
like  men,  on  whom  the  anxieties  of  life  weigh  heavily. 
Civilization,  bringing  with  it  some  measure  of  material 
prosperity,  has  also  brought  to  these  people  care,  re 
sponsibility,  repression.  No  doubt  it  is  best,  as  it 
fs  inevitable,  but  it  is  sad,  too. 

It  was  my  last  day,  and  I  was  again  sitting  with 
Eagle  Chief,  telling  him  that  the  time  had  come  for 
me  to  go.  He  said,  "Ah,  my  son,  I  like  to  see  you 
here.  I  like  to  sit  with  you,  and  to  talk  over  the  old 
times.  My  heart  is  sick  when  I  think  that  you  are 
going  away,  and  that  we  may  never  see  each  other 
any  more.  But,"  he  added,  solemnly,  "It  may  be 
that  Ti-ra'-wa  will  be  good  to  us,  and  will  let  us  live 
a  long  time  until  we  are  very  old,  and  then  some  day 
we  may  meet  again." 


APPENDIX. 

THE    PAWNEE    LANGUAGE. 

BY    JOHN    B.    DUNBAR. 

I.  The  language  of  the  Pawnees  presents  to  the 
student  of  ethnology  a  field  quite  as  attractive  and 
original  as  is  the  matter  for  the  first  time  presented 
in  the  preceding  pages.  It  may  rightfully  challenge 
eminent  position  for  its  beauty  as  well  as  for  its  de 
tailed  flexibility.  Even  in  its  daily  use  careful  atten 
tion  is  given  to  the  euphonic  element,  in  the  employ 
ment  of  euphonic  syllables,  in  the  omission  of  sylla 
bles  or  letters,  and  in  the  substitution  of  letters;  while 
its  system  of  verbal  inflection  frequently  admits  of 
the  compendious  expression  of  shades  of  meaning 
which  has  usually  quite  disappeared  from  the  lan 
guages  of  literature. 

This  chapter,  however,  must  not  be  understood  as  a 
complete  or  critical  exhibit  of  the  nature  and  details 
of  the  language  of  the  Pawnees.  Such  an  undertak 
ing  would  require  a  volume.  It  is  rather  intended 
to  present  some  of  the  more  obvious  features  of  the 


4io  Appendix. 

Pawnee  tongue — such  as  may  perhaps,  in  connection 
with  the  preceding  pages,  be  of  interest  as  illustrat 
ing  something  of  the  more  recondite  mental  traits  of 
this  remarkable  people.  Hitherto  their  language  has 
remained  to  students  of  aboriginal  philology  an  al 
most  unknown  tongue.  The  meager  vocabularies 
published  have  been  inadequate  and  frequently  in 
accurate,  while  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  present 
the  language  in  its  inflections  and  syntactical  uses. 
It  is  with  extreme  hesitancy  that  this  sketch  is  ven 
tured,  as  its  very  brevity  will  necessarily  tend  to  ren 
der  the  matter  presented  incomplete  and  unsatis 
fying. 

2.  As  stated  by  Mr.  Grinnell,  the  Pawnee  is  one  of 
a  group  of  seven  cognate  dialects:  Pawnee,  Ankara, 
Wichita,  Waco,  Caddo,  Kifci  and  Tawakoni.  The 
lexical  and  grammatical  variations  in  the  speech  of 
these  tribes  are  often  wide;  still  there  are  abundant 
evidences,  in  vocabulary  and  in  inflection,  to  establish 
beyond  cavil  their  close  genetic  relationship.  The 
following  of  the  former  class  will  sufficiently  indi 
cate  the  scope  and  value  of  such  evidences.  Unfor 
tunately  I  am  not  able  to  give  the  Tawakoni  forms 
in  this  table;  but  the  resemblance  is  quite  as  close 
as  in  the  other  southern  branches: 


The  Pawnee  Language. 


411 


412  Appendix. 

This  list,  especially  if  instances  for  comparison 
between  two  or  three  of  the  dialects  were  taken, 
might  be  indefinitely  extended 

3.  The  Pawnee  alphabet  comprises  sixteen  letters: 
a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  t,  dy  /i,  k,  I,  n,  p,  r,  j,  /,  w.  The  sounds 
of  the  letters  are:  a  as  in  far,  and  d  as  in  fat;  e  as  ay 
in  day,  and  e  as  in  met;  /  as  in  pique,  and  /as  in  it; 
o  as  in  no,  and  6  as  in  not;  u  as  oo  in  fool,  and  u  as 
in  up.  The  diphthong  at  has  the  sound  of  i  in  pine. 
The  consonants  are  pronounced  as  in  English,  ex 
cept  £,  which  has  the  sound  of  ch,  abruptly  uttered, 
as  in  chuck.  It  sometimes  is  nearly  ts,  as  tis'-u,  an 
awl;  t&t'-iks,  a  spider.  Certain  of  the  letters  in  ordi 
nary  discourse  are  interchangeable,  aspdt'-kttp£t'-kt, 
an  acorn;  i-h&r'-t,  i-her'-t,  a  little  one;  kur'-tt-kt,  kod'- 
it-ki,  a  stone;  ti'-rak-uy  ti'-lak-u,  a  bow;  mk'-u-hi, 
lik-u-hi,  the  shoulder  bone;  ktt-u-ha'-ht,  kit-u-ha'-ri, 
upland,  etc. 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  a  peculiar 
trait  of  the  language,  the  use  of  evanescent  or  eu 
phonic  terminal  syllables:  as,  a'-rus,  a'-rus-a,  a  horse; 
pits' -u-la, pits' -zi-td-hd,  a  wasp;  tuk'-er,  t&&-er-0twhQ? 
lu'-rt-hi,  lu'-rt-hi-rd,  beyond;  wis'-kuts,  wis' -kuts-u, 
instantly;  ti'-tit  ti'-ti-ri,  to-day;  mk'-uts,  mk'-uts-kt, 
a  bird,  etc.  Another  use  worthy  of  note  is  the  fre- 


The  Pawnee  Language.  413 

quent  omission  of  initial  or  final  consonants  in  dis 
course:  as  pa' -pit-is  i-kur'-i-kut  lot  pa' -pit-is  ni-kur- 
i-kut,  half  a  dollar;  it-he' -rd  pa'-u  for  ti-he'-rds-d 
pa'-u,  yonder  hill,  etc. 

4.  Nouns  are  not  inflected  to  mark  grammatical 
construction.  With  rare  exceptions  also  the  same 
form  is  used  for  all  numbers.  The  word  up'-uts,  both, 
sometimes  marks  the  dual,  and  kit'-u,  all,  the  plural. 
The  syllable  ta  in  a  few  cases  is  suffixed  to  mark  the 
plural:  as  ta'-riks,  a  person;  ta'-riks-ta,  people; 
ur'-ik-i,  a  horn;  ur'-ik-td,  horns,  also  =  the  swallow- 
tailed  hawk  (Milvulus  forficatus)\  uk'-a-ru,  a  lodge; 
uk'-i-tar-u,  a  village.  Feminine  gender,  when  not 
indicated  by  the  meaning,  is  frequently  marked  by 
prefixing  s  to  an  initial  consonant:  as  ku'-ra-u,  a 
doctor;  sku'-ra-u,  a  woman  doctor;  te'-s/iar-u,  a 
chief;  ste'-shar-u,  a  woman  chief;  ku'-ruks,  a  bear; 
sku'-ruks,  a  she  bear.  There  are,  however,  numer 
ous  nouns  in  which  initial  s,  as  part  of  the  root,  has 
no  reference  to  gender:  as  ski'-rik-i,  a  wolf;  ska'-rus, 
oak,  etc.  In  other  cases  pit' -a,  man,  or  male,  or 
tap' -at,  woman  or  female,  may  be  suffixed  or  placed 
after  the  noun;  as  a'-rus-d,  a  horse;  fa' -a-wit-d,  a 
stallion;  nik'-uts-ki  tap' -at,  a  hen,  etc. 

Amplificatives  are  freely  formed  by  suffixing  the 


414  Appendix. 

syllable  kuts  or  uts;  as,  fvs'-u,  nose;  tos'-kuts,  big  nose; 
ki'-wik-i,  a  bull;  kt'-wik-uts,  a  large  bull.  Diminutives 
may  be  formed  by  suffixing  i-hur-i:  as  ut'-u,  a  prai 
rie  hen;  ut'  i-hur-i,  little  prairie  chickens;  kuk'-us, 
a  hog;  kuk' -&s-&r-it  a  pig. 

The  language  allows  great  freedom  for  the  forma 
tion  of  nouns  by  composition.  Such  words  consti 
tute  a  considerable  part  of  the  vocabulary.  The  fol 
lowing  may  serve  as  illustrations: 
Ak-d-pa-hi  (a-kau,  mouth,  and  pa ' hit-u,  silence),  a 
dumb  person;  nip' -ik-ta-ka  (nip'-ik-t,  an  egg,  and  luk'- 
u-ta-ka,  to  be  white),  the  white  of  an  egg;  skir-i- 
puks-ku-ku  (skir'-ik-i,  a  wolf,  puks'-u,  head,  and  luk'- 
u-ruk-u,  to  have  or  hold),  a  wolf  skin  head  dress; 
pi' -rus-us-taii -i-knr-i  (pi'-rus,  a  worm,  us'-u,  a  foot, 
tau,  sign  of  plural,  and  luk-u-kur-i,  to  be  many),  a 
centipede ;  us-a-kas-ter'-iir-i-ru-ka'-tuk-tis-d  (a'-rus-dy 
a  horse,  kas'-u,  a  leg  or  thigh,  Ink' -u-ter-iir-it,  to  burn, 
ru,  a  causative  particle,  ka,  sign  of  plural,  and  kut'~ 
us,  a  depression),  a  horse  branded  upon  the  thigh,  or 
a  brand  on  the  thigh  of  a  horse. 

5.  The  following  will  present  the  principal  pro 
nouns  of  the  language.  The  use  of  the  inflected  and 
fragmentary  forms  is  sometimes  intricate.  The  per 
sonal  pronouns  are  thus  inflected: 


The  Pawnee  Language.  415 

lat'-u,  I. 
i-si'-lut,  we  two. 

i-ra-ra',  we  (person  addressed  not  included). 
i-lut'-a-ra,  we  (person  addressed  included). 
las' -u,  you. 
i-si'-lus,  you  two. 
i-lus-td ,  you. 

Pronouns  of  the  third  person,  when  referring  to 
persons  in  different  positions,  take  the  following 
forms: 

SITTING.  LYING.  STANDING. 

ti-rak'-u,         ti'-rds-d,         ti-rd-rik-i,          he,  she,  it. 
ti-si' -rak-u,     ti-si'rds-d,      ti-si' ra-rik-i,       they  two. 
ti-rau-l-hut,  ti-ri-hau' -d,    ti-ra-wd -rlk-i,    they. 
ti-wi'  -hut,       ti'-rur-uts,      tt-ra-ruk' s-au-t,  they. 

The  last  of  these  is  the  inanimate  form;  the  pre 
ceding  the  animate. 

The  usual  fragmentary  forms  of  these  pronouns 

are: 

SINGULAR. 
ist  Pers.  2d  Pers.  3d  Pers. 

Nom.  tut,  lut,  at,  it,  ut,     tus,  us,  as,  is,  kes,     ti,  li,  i. 
Obj.     ku'-ru,  ku,  ki,          tur-i,  ur ' -I  ir-L 

DUAL. 

Nom.  Suffix^"  to  sing.  Prefix^' to  sing.  Suffix .« to  sing. 
Obj.   Prefix .«'  to  sing.  Prefix  si  to  sing.  Prefix.?/  to  sing. 

PLURAL. 

Nom.  Suffix  a,  ra,  ka  to  singular. 
Obj.     Suffix  ruk  to  singular. 


4i  6  Appendix. 

The  pronoun  of  the  third  person,  given  above,  has 
also  a  use  as  a  demonstrative.  When  so  used  the 
insertion  of  the  syllable  /ogives  the  idea  of  distance; 
as,  ti-he'-rak-u  ti-he' -rds-d,  ti-he' -ra-rik-i,  that,  or 
yonder. 

The  possessive  pronouns  are  thus  inflected: 
Sing,     ku'-tat-i,  mine  (one  thing). 

si'ku-tat-i  mine  (two  things). 

si-ku' -tat-i-rd,  mine  (pi.  things). 

Dual,    ku-tat-li1 -ru,  our  (one  thing). 

si-ku-tat-ti'-ru,         our  (two  things). 
ku-tat-ti-rd-ru,         our  (pi.  things). 
Plural,  ku-tat-i-ruk' -u,          our  (one  thing). 
si' -ku-rat-i-r&k1 -Uy    our  (two  things). 
ku' -rat-i-r&k-ta' -ru,  our  (pi.  things). 
Kid-tas-i,  your,  is  inflected  in  the  same  manner, 
observing  the  change  of  /  to  s.     Ku'-ta,  his,  is  as 
follows: 

Sing,     ku-td,  his  (one  thing). 

si '  -ku-td,  his  (two  things). 

ku-td-ra' ,  his  (pi.  things). 

Dual.    Prefix  si  to  the  forms  of  the  singular. 
Plural,  si-ku-td-ru  their  (one  thing). 

si-ku'-td-ru,  their  (two  things). 

si' ku-td-ra -ru,         their  (pi.  things). 
The  reflexive,  wi'-ti,  and  the  intensive,  a-ris'-ut, 
are  not  inflected.     Wi'-ti  ti'-kuts-d,  he  cuts  himself; 
a-ris'-ut  tut' -kit,  I  am  here  myself. 


The  Pawnee  Language.  417 

The  relative,  &/'-/,  in  ordinary  use  seems  to  include 
antecedent  and  relative:  Kdt ' -iit-i-ra' -it-u  id'-i  ku 
iis-pak' -d-hu,  I  do  not  know  that  which  you  say;  td-i 
we-tu'-ra-he,  he  who,  or  that  which  is  good.  In  this 
way  the  real  antecedent  is  often  placed  in  a  quasi 
absolute  construction:  Pit' -a  tut-i-rd -it-d  id'-i  lus- 
u-ra'-ik-u,  the  man,  I  know  him  whom  you  mean. 

The  interrogative  pronouns  are:  tuk'-e-ro,  who; 
ktr'-i-ker-o,  which,  or  what;  and  nets' -ki,  how  many; 
tiik'-er  d-wak'-d-hu,  who  says  it  ?  kir'-i-ker  us-u-dks'- 
a-rtj  what  did  you  do?  a'-rus-d  tuk'-er-o  ku-ra-rd-ru, 
the  horses,  whose  are  they? 

The  indefinite  pronouns  are:  tuk-u,  some  one, 
other;  kets'-ko-kt,  some,  few;  i'-tut,  some;  hau'-a, 
other,  more;  ku,  some,  several;  tuk'-u  ti-ku' -kus-it 
us-au'-i-u,  some  one  takes  my  traps. 

6.  Simple  adjectives  in  Pawnee  are  not  numerous. 
Most  adjective  ideas  exist  only  as  verbal  forms,  and 
are  so  inflected.  The  root  of  such  adjectives  may 
be  suffixed  to  nouns,  and  thus  numerous  compounds 
are  formed:  2& puks'-po-hut^  red  head;  ter-d-ha-ta' -kay 
a  white  buffalo;  us-ka'-ttt,  black  foot.  A  comparative 
degree  is  formed  for  adjective  words  by  means  of 
lu-ri-hi'-rd,  beyond;  lu-ri-hi'-rd  tu"-ray  good  be 
yond,  /.  e.,  better.  When  a  less  degree  is  spoken  of, 


4i  8  Appendix. 

su-hu'-rt,  on  this  side,  with  the  negative  adjective,  is 
used:  su-hu'-ri  ka-ku'-rd-he,  bad  on  this  side  (of 
good),  /.  e.t  less  good.  A  superlative  is  formed  by 
the  use  of  the  words  id'-i  sto:  id'-i  sto  ka-ku'-ra-he, 
that  which  is  very  bad. 

The  article  la  or  lau  is  always  inseparable.  Some 
times  it  is  prefixed,  as,  la'-kit-u,  the  whole;  but  more 
usually  it  is  suffixed,  as,  pit'-a-lau,  the  man;  tus-ti- 
lau,  the  old  woman.  A  verbal  root  with  this  prefix 
becomes  the  equivalent  of  our  agent,  or  doer:  la- 
wur'-iy  the  traveler;  la-wak' -a-hu,  the  speaker.  In 
corporated  into  verbal  forms  it  has  a  quasi  relative 
use:  ti-la-kak'-u,  he  that  is  within  (the  house);  ti-la- 
kit'-uk,  he  that  is  above,  /.  e,  the  supreme  ruler. 

The  Pawnee  system  of  numeration  is  by  twenties. 
The  numerals  are: 

1.  usk'-o.  12.  pit-ku-su' -sid-i. 

2.  pit'-ko.  13.  tau-i- ruks'-id-i. 

3.  tau'-it.  14.  la-ku'-kit. 

4.  ski'tiks.  15.  si-huks-td -ru-ktt. 

5.  si'huks.  1 6.  su' '-ra-wi-u. 

6.  skiks'-a-ptts.  17.  tau' -it-ka-ki. 

7.  pU-ku-siks'-a-pits.       18.  pit' -kus-ka-ki. 

8.  tau-iks'-a-pits.  19.  usti -u-ka-ki. 

9.  li-uks'-id-i-war.          20.  pit' -au. 

10.  li-uks' -id-i.  30.  luks-id-i  wit'-au. 

11.  usk-u-hd-kit.  40.  pit' -kus-u-ra-ru. 


The  Pawnee  Language.  419 

50.  pit ' -kus-u-ra '-ru  li-uks' -id-i. 

60.  tau1 -i-ra-ru. 

70.  tau'-i-ra-ru  H-uks'-id-i. 

80.  skit' -iks-ta-ru. 

90.  skit' -iks-ta-ru  li-uks' -id-t. 
100.  si-huks-tar' -u. 
1 10.  si-huks-tar -u  li-uks-id-i. 

This  method  of  numeration  evidently  originated 
from  the  use  of  the  fingers  and  toes  in  counting; 
hence  ptt'-au,  twenty,  is  pit' -a,  a  man.  In  tau'-it- 
ka-kt,  ka-ki,  no,  has  the  meaning  less.  When  two 
numbers  are  combined  by  addition,  as  in  pit'-kus-u- 
ra-ru  li-uks' -id-i,  the  conjunction  a,  and,  is  under 
stood  and  frequently  expressed. 

From  pit'-au  to  pit' -kus-u-ra-ru,  as  also  in  each 
succeeding  twenty,  the  intervening  numerals  are 
formed  by  adding  usk-u,  etc.;  as  pit'au  (a)  si'-huks, 
twenty-five;  pit-kus-u-rd -ru  (a)  usk-u-ka-ki,  thirty- 
nine;  skit' -iks-ta-ru  (a)  la-ku'-kit,  ninety-four.  From 
li-uks'  -id-i  wit' -an  to  pit-kus-u-rd -ru,  however,  the 
numerals  may  be  li-uks' -id-i  wit'-au  (a)  usk'-o,  etc. 
The  higher  numbers  are  expressed  as  follows: 

150.  pit ' -ku-siks-a-pits-ta ' -ru  (a)  li-uks' - 
200.  luks' -id-i-rd -ru. 
300.  si-huks-tar -u-kit-au-i-rd -ru. 
400.  pit-au-rd -ru. 


420  Appendix. 

500.  pit'-au  (a)  si'-huks  la"-riks. 

600.  li-uks-id-i  wit' -au  ta'-rfks. 

700.  pit'-au  (a)  si-huks-ta'  ru-kit  ta"-rtks. 

800.  pit-kus-u-ra '-ru  ta'-riks. 

900.  pit-kus-u-ra! -ru  (a)  si'-huks  ta'-riks. 
1000.  pit '  -kus-u-ra '-ru  (a)  li-uks' -id-i  ta'-riks,  or 

tisk'-u  lak'-u  =  one  box. 
4000.  luks-id-i-ra! -ru  to" -riks. 

The  word  ta"-riks,  a  person,  in  numerals,  twenty, 
denotes  multiplication.  The  syllables  ta'-ru,  or  ra'- 
ru,  from  luk-u-ra '-ru,  to  count,  signifies  in  number. 

There  are  no  proper  ordinals  in  Pawnee.  La-hir'- 
us-a,  the  leading  one,  is  used  for  first;  su-hu '-ri-lau, 
the  one  on  this  side;  or,  lu-ri-hi'-lau,  the  one  on  the 
other  side,  for  next;  lut-pit' -u-a-ri,  kau'-it-d,  or  au-i- 
kis'-u,  for  last. 

Numeral  adverbs,  as  high  as  twenty,  are  formed 
adding  the  suffix  si-ri  immediately  to  the  correspond 
ing  adjective,  as,  usk'-u-st-rt,  si' -huks-i-ri,  etc. 

7.  As  already  intimated,  the  distinction  of  verbs 
as  such  from  other  parts  of  speech  is  not  definitely 
marked  in  Pawnee.  Beside  verbs  proper,  other 
words,  as  nouns,  adjectives  and  adverbs,  may  admit 
partial  or  complete  inflection  as  verbs.  Verbs  and 
verbal  uses,  therefore,  constitute  the  most  character- 


The  Pawnee  Language.  421 

istic  and  intricate  element  in  the  language.  There 
are  in  use  no  verbal  roots.  The  simplest  form  to 
which  a  verb  may  be  reduced  leaves  it  still  an  in 
flected  form.  By  eliminating  the  inflectional  and 
euphonic  syllables,  a  naked  root,  usually  monosyl 
labic,  may  be  formed;  as; 

wau,  to  eat     wak,  to  utter  sound  kutt  to  kill 
tar,  to  do        rok,  to  make  &/,  to  go 

wiir,  to  move  rat,  to  sorrow  ruw,  to  take 

kats>  to  bite     kit,  to  be  over  kuts,  to  break 

ray  to  have      kush,  to  place  rusp,  to  search  for 

From  these  roots  the  various  verbal  forms  may  be 
constructed  by  means  of  inflectional  and  terminal 
syllables,  with  occasional  euphonic  modifications;  as, 
tut'-pur-iy  I  travel;  ti-kot'-it,  he  kills;  si-tus '-uks-pa- 
wa,  you  two  have  eaten,  etc. 

Verbs  are  inflected  to  indicate  changes  of  mode, 
tense,  number  and  person.  There  seems  to  be  no 
distinctive  passive,  though  some  apparently  passive 
forms  are  found. 

There  are  seven  modes,  the  Indicative,  Subjunc 
tive,  Potential,  Optative,  Conditional,  Imperative, 
and  Infinitive.  The  tenses  are  three,  the  Present, 
Future  (first  and  second),  and  Past.  The  following 
paradigms  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  modifications 


422  Appendix. 

in  form  of  mode  and  tense,  and  also  of  number  and 
person  in  a  regular  verb: 

Luk-u-wak' -a-hus  to  speak. 

INDICATIVE  MODE. 

Present.  2d  Future. 

Sing.  i.  tut-pak '-d-hu  Sing.  i.  tut-pak' -ust 

2.  tus-paK-d-hu  2.  tus-pak'-ust 

3.  ti-wak'-d-/iu  3.  ti-wak ' -ust 
Dual.  i.  si-tut-pak' -d-hu       Dual.  i.  si -tut-pak -ust 

2.  si-tus-pak -d-hu  2.  si-tus-pak' -ust 

3.  si-ti-wak' -d-hu  3.  si-ti-wak' -ust 
Plur.  i.  tur-a-puk-e      )      Plur.  i.  tur -a' -puk-est      \ 

tut-a-ra' -puk-e  \  tut-a-ra' -puk-est  \ 

2.  tus-ta-puk'-e  2.  tiis-ta' -puk-est 

3.  ti"-wuk-e  3.  ti"-wfik-est 

ist  Future.  Past. 

Sing.  i.  kus-ti-wak '-d-hu  Sing.  i.  t&t-uks-pak1 -a-hu 

2.  kas-i-wak' -d-hu  2.  tiis-uks-pati -d-hu 

3.  kus-i-wak' -d-hu  3.  tuks-pak ' -d-hu 
Dual.  i.  si-kus-ti-wak '-d-hu  Dual.  i.  tut-tiks-pak '-d-hu 

2.  si-kas-i-wak -d-hu  2.  si-tus-uks-pak '-d-hu 

3.  si-kus-i-wak' -d-hu  3.  si-tuks-pak -d-hu 
Plur.  i.  kus-ta-wak' -d-hu    Plur.  i.  t&t-uks-puk'-e      \ 

kus-ta-ra '-wak-d-hu  tut-uks-ta '-puk-e  j 

2.  kus-a-ra' -puk-e  2.  tus-uks-ta' -puk-e 

3.  kus-i-ri' -wuk-e  3.  tiks' -puk-e 

IMPERATIVE. 
Sing.  i.  ket' -pak-d-hu          Dual.  Prefix  j/  to  the  forms 

2.  kes' -pak-d-hu        }  of  the  Singular. 
kas' -a-wak' -d-hu  V  Plur.  i.  ker'-a-puk-e 
suks'  -pak-d-hu      )                 &?/ '  -a-ra-puk-e 

3.  ker' -li-wak-d-hu  2.  kes' -ta-puk-e 

3.  suks' -ta-puk-e 


The  Pawnee  Language.  423 

INFINITIVE. 

Pres.  luk-u-wak' -d-hu 

The  Potential  Mode  has  only  two  tenses,  Present 
and  Past.  It  is  formed  by  prefixing  kit ,  accented, 
to  the  forms  of  the  Indicative,  except  in  the  Dual, 
where  ku*  follows  the  initial  si. 

SUBJUNCTIVE  MODE. 
Present.  Future. 

Sing.  i.  at-pak-d  Sing.  i.  at-pak-ust 

2.  as-pak'-d  2.  as-pak'-ust 

3.  t-wak'-d  3.  i-wak'-ust 
Dual.  i.  si-at-pak'-d  Dual.  i.  si-at-pak' -ust 

2.  si-as-pak'-d  2.  si-as-pak' -ust 

3.  si-i-wak'-d  3.  si-i-wak' -ust 
Plur.  i.  a-ra" -puk-e     )       Plur.  i.  a-ra' -puk-est      ) 

at-a-ra' -puk-e  )  at-a-ra '-puk-est  \ 

2.  as-ta'-puk-e  2.  as-ta' -puk-est 

3.  i"-wuk-e  3.  z"-wuk-est 

Past. 

Sing.    i.  at-uks-pak '-d-hu 

2.  as-uks-pak '-d-hu 

3.  i-ruks-pak '-d-hu 
Dual.  i.  st'-tt-uks-pak'-d-hu 

2.  si'-is-uks-pak-d-hu 

3 .  « ' -i-ruks-pak-d-hu 
Plur.    i.  at-uks-ta' -puk-e      ) 

at-uks-ta-ra' -puk-e  j 

2.  as-uks-ta' -puk-e 

3.  iks-puk'-e 

The  Optative  Mode  has  two  tenses,  Present  and 
Past.  It  is  formed  by  prefixing  £#,  unaccented,  to 


424  Appendix. 

the  forms  of  the  Subjunctive,  except  in  the  Dual, 
where  ku  follows  the  initial  si. 

CONDITIONAL   MODE. 
Present.  Future. 

Sing.  i.  tt-pak'-d  Sing.  i.  it-pati-ust 

2.  ts-pak'-a  2.  is-pak'-ust 

3.  li-wak-d  3.  li-wak'-ust 
Dual.  i.  si-it-pati-d  Dual.  i.  si-it-pak' -ust 

2.  si-is-pak'-d  2.  si-is-pak -ust 

3.  si-li-wak'-d  3.  si-li-wak '-ust 
Plur.  i.  i'-rd -puk-e     \        Plur.  i.  i' -rd -puk-est    \ 

it-a-ra! -piik-e  j  it-a-ra '-puk-est  j 

2.  is-ta ' -puk-e  2.  is-ta' -puk-est 

3.  i'-ru '-puk-e  3.  i' ~r& -wuk-est 

Past. 

Sing.    i.  tt-uks-pati -a 

2.  is-uks-pak' -d 

3.  li-ruks-pak' -d 
Dual.   i.  si-it-uks-pak' -d 

2.  si-is-uks-pati -a 

3 .  si-li-  ruks-pak'-d 
Plur.    i.  it-uks-ta! -piik-e       \ 

it-uks-ta-rd -puk-e  j 

2.  is-uks-ta' -piik-e 

3.  i" -ruks-puk-e 

There  is  also  in  certain  forms,  occasionally  used, 
indication  of  another  mode,  which  may  perhaps  be 
designated  the  Phenomenal;  as,  ti" -ra-wak-a-hu,  he 
seems  to  say;  ti" -ra-wa-wa,  he  seems  to  be  eating, 
etc.,  etc. 


The  Pawnee  Language.  425 

NOTES  ON  THE  PRECEDING  PARADIGM. 

In  the  first  person  plural,  the  first  form  given  does 
not  include  the  person  or  persons  addressed;  the 
second  form  is  used  as  in  English.  The  syllable  kus 
is  the  sign  of  the  First  Future,  I  shall  speak,  etc. 
(which  appears  only  in  the  Indicative  Mode);  ter 
minal  isf,  ust,  or  est  is  the  sign  of  the  Second  Future 
=  I  am  going  to  speak,  etc.  The  syllable  uks,  some 
times  tiks,  immediately  before  the  verbal  root,  is  the 
sign  of  the  Past  =  I  spoke,  or  have  spoken,  etc. 
The  Present  is,  however,  freely  used  as  a  Past.  To 
mark  an  act,  therefore,  as  distinctly  present,  the  syl 
lables  ik-u  are  frequently  appended  to  the  root;  as 
ti-wuk-tik '-u,  he  is  speaking.  The  word  o'-det,  when, 
is  quite  commonly  added  to  the  Potential;  as,  at'- 
pak-u  o'-det,  when  I  may  speak.  In  like  manner  it 
may  be  added  to  the  Conditional  with  a  prefixed 
hi'-ru,  or  we-hi'-ru,  if;  as  hi'-ru  li-wak' -ust,  if  he 
shall  speak;  we-hi'-ru  i' -ruks-puk-e  o'-det,  whenever 
they  spoke. 

A  negative  form  of  conjugation  is  made  by  pre 
fixing  ka'-ki,  not,  and  an  interrogative  by  prefixing 
kur'-aj  as — 

ka-kut-pak' -d-hu  kur-ut-pak '-d-hu 

ka-kus-pak' -d-hu  kur-us-pak' -d-hu 

ka-ki-wak' -d-hu  kur-d-wak' -d-hu 


426  Appendix. 

The  syllable  we  is  frequently  prefixed  to  verbal 
forms.  In  some  cases  it  seems  to  serve  to  shift  the 
responsibility  of  the  assertion;  as  we-ti-kes'-u  ('tis 
said)  he  lies.  At  other  times  it  seems  to  mark  a 
present  form  as  past;  as  we-ti'-ut-d,  he  is  gone. 

In  a  few  cases  the  distinction  of  animate  and  in 
animate  forms  is  found  in  conjugation;  as — 

Sing.    i.  tut'-ku,  I  am  here  (standing). 

2.  tus'-ku,  you,  etc. 

3.  ti ' -ku,  he,  etc. 

Dual.  i.  si-tut' -ku,  we  two,  etc. 

2.  si-tus-ku,  you  two,  etc. 

3.  si-ti'-ku,  they  two,  etc. 
Plur.    i.  tur-d -pi- hiit,        \ 

tiir-a-kd -pi-hut,  j        ' 

2.  tus-td  -pi- hut,  you,  etc. 

3.  ti"-wi-hut,  they,  etc.  (animate). 
ti"-ruts,  they,  etc.  (inanimate). 

The  word  u-wiits,  even,  is  often  inserted  in  verbal 
forms;  as,  as ' -uks-u-wuts-pak-e,  were  you  even  to 
say.  In  like  manner  kat' -us,  a  dubitative  interroga 
tive,  may  be  prefixed;  as,  kat'-us-i'-wur-i,  is  he  trav 
eling,  I  wonder? 

The  following  verbal  forms  will  afford  a  view  of 
the  more  common  incorporated  fragmentary  pro 
nouns  in  the  objective  case: 

tur-a-pid-i-hu'-rti,  I  love. 

tut-ur ' -i-ra-pid-i-hu '-ru,  I  love  you  (sing.). 


The  Pawnee  Language.  427 

si-tut-ur' -i-ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  I  love  you  (dual). 
tut-ur-i-ruk' -ta-pid-i-hu' -ru,  I  love  you  (plural). 
tut-ir1 -i-ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  I  love  him,  her,  or  it. 
si-tut-ir' -i-ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  I  love  them  (dual). 
tut-ir-i-ruk' -ta-pid-i-hu!  ru,  I  love  them  (plural). 
tus -ta-pid-i-hu' -ru,  you  (sing.)  love. 
tus-ku ' -ru-ra-pid-i-hu ' ~ru,  you  love  me. 
si-tus-ku' -ru-ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  you  love  us  (dual). 
tus-ku-ru-r  iik' -ta-pid-i-hu' -ru,  you  love  us  (plural). 
tus' -ir-i-ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  you  love  him,  her,  or  it. 
si-tus' -ta-pid-i-hu' -ru,  you  love  them  (dual). 
tus-ir-i-ruti -ta-pid-i-hu  ru,  you  love  them  (plural). 
ti' -ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  he  loves. 
ti-ku-ru-ra-pid-i-hu'-ru,  he  loves  me. 
si-ti-ku' -ru-ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  he  loves  us  (dual). 
ti-ku-ru-ruk '-ta-pid-i-hu ' -ru,  he  loves  us  (plural). 
tur' -i-ru-ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  he  loves  you  (sing.). 
si-tur-i' -ru-ra-pid-i-hu* -ru,  he  loves  you  (dual). 
tur-i-ru-ruti -ta-pid-i-hu1 -ru,  he  loves  you  (plural). 
td -ru-ra-pid-i-hu' -ru,  he  loves  him,  her,  or  it. 
si-ta' -ru-ra-pid-i-hu* -ru,  he  loves  them  (dual). 
ta-ru-ruK -ta-pid-i-hu' -ru,  he  loves  them  (plural). 

Similarly  nouns  may  be  incorporated;  as,  ti-puks1- 
o-kut  (ti  '-kut,  he  cuts,  and  puks'-u,  the  head),  he  cuts 
his  head;  tu-riks' -ta-re-kar-uk' -u  (tu" -ra-he,  it  is  good, 
iks'-u,  the  hand,  ta,  sign  of  plural,  kir-ar'-u,  water, 
and  ti-roti-o,  he  makes),  he  washes  his  hands;  ti-kir'- 
ik-pi-rus-a! -ri  (ti-a'-ri,  he  acts,  or  does,  kir'-ik-i,  the 


428  Appendix. 

eye,  and  pi'-rus,  a  worm),  he  crooks  his  eye  like  a 
worm,  /.  £.,  he  winks  (to  convey  intelligence).  This 
word  was  coined  to  express  an  act  common  with  the 
whites,  but  unknown  to  the  Pawnees. 

There  is  another  form  of  conjugation,  found  in 
numerous  verbs,  which  requires  notice.  The  follow 
ing  paradigm  presents  one  of  these  verbs  in  the  In 
dicative  and  Imperative  Modes: 

Luk '-u-ta-ri,  to  make,  to  do. 

INDICATIVE. 
Present.  Second  Future. 

Sing.  i.  tut'-u-ta-ri  Sing.  i.  tut '-u-ta-rist 

2.  tus'-u-ta-ri  2.  tus' -u-ta-rist 

3.  tu-td-ri  3.  tu'-ta-rist 
Dual.  i.  tut '  -si-ta-ri  Dual.  i.  tut1  -si-ta-rist 

2.  si-tus'  -u-ta-ri  2.  si-tus' -u-ta-rist 

3.  si-tu-td-ri  3.  si-tu' -ta-rist 
Plur.  i.  tut' -u-ra-kd -ri  \   Plur.  i.  tut' -u-ra-ka' -rist 

tut'-u-ra-ta'-ka-rl  j  tut'-u-ra-ta'-ka-rtst 

2.  tus' -u-ra-ka' -rt  2.  tiis  -u-ra-kd -rist 

3.  ti"-ta-ri  3.  ti" -ta-rist 
First  Future.  Past. 

Sing.  i.  kus-tUt' -si-a-ri  Sing.  i.  tut-u-tiks' -a-ri 

2.  kas-ut* -si-a-ri  2.  tus-u-ttks' -a-rt 

3.  kus-ut'-si-a-ri  3.  tu-tiks' -a-rt 
Dual.  i.  kat- sit '-si-a-ri  Dual.  i.  tut-si-tiks' -a-ri 

2.  si-kas-ut  '-si-a-ri  2.  si-tus-u-tiks -a-ri 

3.  si-kus-ut  '-si-a-ri  3.  si-tu-tiks' -a-ri 
Plur.  i.  kus-tut'-si-ra-ka'-ri¥\\ir.  i.  tut-u-tiks' -ta-ka-ri 

kus-tut ' -si-ra-ta' -ka-ri  tut-u-tiks -ta-rd -ka-ri 

2.  kas-ut ' -si-ra-ka-ri  2.  tus-u-tiks' -ta-ka-ri 

3.  kus-it1 -si-a-ri  3.  ti"-liks'-a-ri 


The  Pawnee  Language.  429 

IMPERATIVE. 

Sing.    i.  tu-ttks'-a-rt 

2.  su-tiks' -a-rt 

3.  lu-ttks' -a-ri 
Dual.  i.  ti-ttks' -a-ri 

2.  si-su-ttks' -a-ri 

3.  si-lu-ttks' -a-ri 
Plur.    i.  tu-liks '-ta-ka-ri 

tu-tiks' -ta-ra' -ka-rt 

2.  su-tiks -ta-ka-ri 

3.  li-dks'-a-rt 

INFINITIVE. 
luk'-u-ta-rt 

Nouns  are  also  subject  to  inflection,  so  far  as  their 
meaning  will  admit,  as  verbs;  as,  sak-u'-ru,  day;  ti- 
sak-ur-ik-i,  it  is  day,  or  to-day;  ti-ruk-tak-ur1 -ik-i,  it 
was  day,  or  yesterday;  pit' -a,  a  man;  pit'-ut,  I  am  a 
man;  pit1 -us,  you  are  a  man;  lau -i-Zuk-u' -ru,  a  fight; 
lau -i-luk-u-ru-tut' ,  I  mean  fight,  etc. 

8.  Prepositions  are  perhaps  without  exception  en 
clitic,  suffixed  to  the  word  that  they  govern.  The 
more  common  are  ru  or  tu,  as  sd-he-ru,  toward,  with, 
or  among  the  Cheyennes,  puk'-tis-tu,  toward,  or  at 
the  north;  rid-i  or  rtr-i,  as  o-rJ-rid-i,  on,  or  in  the 
ground;  us' -ta-rir-i,  in,  on,  or  with  the  feet;  Mt,  as 
kur'-tt-kut,  in  the  rock,  or  among  the  rocks;  au-us'- 
tat-kut,  among  the  weeds. 

Conjunctions  require  no  special  remark.    The  most 


430  Appendix. 

frequently  used  are:   a,  and;  kets'-i,  but,  yet;  ka'ho, 
or;  hi'-ru  or  we-hi'-ru,  if,  though. 

The  following  dialogue  between  two  friends  who 
have  been  absent  from  the  village  in  different  direc 
tions,  will  serve  as  an  example  of  the  language  in  its 
ordinary  and  informal  uses.  The  sentences  in  such 
cases  are  usually  short,  often  abrupt,  and  repetitious 
almost  ad  nauseam.  The  songs  are  more  formal. 
They  represent  one  branch  of  the  unwritten  literature 
of  the  tribe.  The  accompanying  notes,  with  the  aid 
of  the  paradigms  already  given,  will  perhaps  render 
the  forms  sufficiently  intelligible. 

I-ra'-rt,  kur-us-uks -pa-re  s-ut-a  ? l 
Brother,         have  you  been  hunting  ? 

A'-huy  tut-uks' -pa-res- ut  lu-ri-hi'-ra  skit'-iks  sak-u'-ru. 
Yes,       I  went  hunting      beyond  (ago)       five          days. 

La-ru'-ra'-kt  ku  kur-us-uks'-ko-tit?* 
Deer  any          did  you  kill? 

A'-hu,    tau'-it   tut-uks-kd -o-ttt?  ur-i-kur-ar -u    usk 
Yes,         three          I  killed  them,  buck  onff 

a   pa-wat'-is   pit'-ku, 
and         does  two. 

A         ku       hau'-a   kur' -us-pa-res'-ut-a?* 
And   sometime    again        will  you  go  hunting? 

A'-hu,  le-hes'-d  hau'-a  km' -ti-ut-d, 6 
Yes,     to-morrow    again        I  shall  go. 

Ki  '-ru  rus-pit' -ut-a  ? 6 
Where     will  you  go  to  ? 


The  Pawnee  Language.  431 

Ti-rat'-d-wa    lut-ku-wtt'-ut-a 7    Kai'-it-d. 
Perhaps    I  go  somewhere  on  the   Cimarron. 

Kur-us'-ut-d  it-skur'-d  ? 8 
Shall  you  go          alone? 

Ka-ku'-ri,  pi'-risk-i  si-tut-pa '-ut-a. 
No,  a  boy     he  and  I  shall  go. 

Tuk-er'  us-u' -rai' -tk-u9   pi'-rtsk-t? 
Whom         do  you  mean  by  boy  ? 

Kit' -ke-hak-i)    ti-te'-sa     Ki'-wuk-u. 
A  Kitkehak,    he  is  named          Fox. 

£'.'     A\>     tut-i-rai'-it-u. 
O  !       Ah  !         I  know  him. 

Kets'-i  ki'-ru  rus-uks'-ut-a? 
But      where   have  you  been  ? 

Pa-sas-i-ru       lu       tut-uks  '-ut-a. 
The  Osages  with  away  I  have  been. 

Kir-l-ker  us-uks' -tus-pl  ? '  ° 
For  what       did  you  seek  ? 

Lik-is'-u  tut-u-dks-ti-ut, 
For  corn          I  went. 

A  Itk-is'-u  kur'-us-u-ras?11 
And      corn         did  you  find  ? 

£us-ki  '-it  si ' -ti-ku-rd -ru. " 
A  little          they  gave  me. 

Ki'-ru  ku  tu-'-ra'-ru? 
Where   any  do  they  give  ? 

Kur'-us-u  lu  luk-u ' -kit-uk. " 

A  bag    clear       to  be  full. 
Kir'-i-ker  us-ti ' -war-itt ? 14 

What     did  you  give  them? 
Ta'-kusk-i    tur-a'-ru. 
Dried  meat     I  gave  them, 


432  Appendix. 

Kits' -ka    kur-a-kid'-i-hu?1" 
The  Arkansas          is  it  high  ? 

A'-hu,  tuks1 -kid' -i-hu. 
Yes,         it  was  high. 

Le'-shar-u,  kur -us-u-ter-it"  id'-i  la'-ktt-au-i-u?" 
The  chief,  did  you  see  him     who  is  ruling? 

Ka-ku'-ri,  ka-kuks'-ku.1* 
No,       he  was  not  there. 

Ker'-i?     Kur'-us-i-wuk-tiks?" 
So  ?  Do  you  tell  the  truth  ? 

A  kur-iit-i-kes-u?™ 
And     do  I  tell  a  lie  ? 

Lau'-a,  kur-us'-ut-ku-ku*1  a-ttp'-ut-d   la     ku-wW- 
Well,      did  you  hear  that     (grandfather )  he  who  is  about 

,    TS, -  )   the  agent   S 

a-tst    o-det? 

to  come   when  ? 

A'-hu,      lu-rt-ht'-rd      le-hes'-d      we-ti-wil' -a-ist. 
Yes,    beyond  (day  after)   to-morrow  'tis  said  he  is  to  come. 

Ker'-t?     id' -i  we-tu'-ra-he. 
So?  That  is  well. 

Tut-d-ttks'-te-ho.™ 
I  am  very  glad. 

NOTES. 

1  Past  interrogative  of  ti ' -pa-rcs-ut-a,  he  goes  hunt 
ing.  2  Past  interrogative  of  ti' -ko-tit,  he  kills.  3  The 
syllable  ka  in  this  form  indicates  a  plural  object. 
4  Second  future  interrogative  of  ti'-pa-res-ut-a. 
6  First  future  of  ti'-ut-a,  he  goes.  6  Second  future  of 
ti-wit' -it-a,  he  goes  to,  or  arrives  at.  The  initial  r  is 
euphonic.  7  The  syllable  ku  in  this  form  carries  the 


The  Pawnee  Language.  433 

idea  of  somewhere.  Kai'-it-a  from  kai'-it-u,  salt,  as 
some  of  its  tributaries  are  saline.  8  The  syllable  //  is 
euphonic.  9  From  tu-rai '-it-u,  he  knows,  or  means. 
10  Past  of  ti'-rus-pi,  he  seeks,  or  hunts.  "  From  ti'- 
hu-ras-a,  he  finds.  12  From  ti'-ru,  he  gives.  The 
syllable  si  is  properly  dual,  but  here  appears  in  a 
plural  form;  ku,  me;  ra  indicates  a  plural  object. 
13  Infinitive  of  ti'-kit-uk,  it  is  full.  14  From  ti'-di- 
war-it,  he  loses,  or  gives  for.  16  Present  interroga 
tive  of  ti' -kid-i-hu,  it  is  big.  18  Interrogative  form  of 
tu'-ter-tt,  he  sees.  17  Third  person  relative  form  of 
ti' -kit-au-i-U)  he  rules.  18  Past  negative  of  ti'-ku,  he 
is  there.  19  From  ti'-wiik-tiks,  he  speaks  the  truth. 
30  From  ti'-kes-u,  he  speaks  falsely.  21  Present  inter 
rogative  of  tt'-ku-ku,  he  hears.  22  From  ti-tiks '-te-ho, 
he  feels  big,  or  happy. 

SONGS. 

fco'-rus-u      we-ti-wak '-u, 
A  maiden    is  said  to  have  sung, 

I'-ruts-ti  lut' -i-ruk-u. 
A  brother    whom  I  have. 

Pi'-kur-us-u  tut-u? -ra' -rus-pi-i-i-a? -a? -a? -a' , 
A  horse,  I  hunt  them  for  him, 

Luk' -u-kit-au-i, 

That  he  may  be  in  command, 

Hu-kat-a-i' -wur-i-i-i-a? -a? -a? -a* -a\ 
In  front  often  as  it  (the  line)  moves  along1. 


434  Appendix* 

This  song  is  supposed  to  be  sung  by  a  young 
woman  in  laudation  of  a  brother  who  holds  eminent 
place  as  a  warrior. 

I'-ruts-ti,  brother,  always  spoken  by  women.  The 
word  used  by  men  is  i-ra'-ri.  Lut  '-i-ruk-u  is  for  la, 
whom,  and  tut' -i-ruk-u,  I  have.  Tut-u1 -ra-rus-pi, 
tur'-us-pi,  I  hunt,  u\  for  him,  and  ra,  them.  This 
fa,  the  sign  of  a  plural  object,  is  not  strictly  correct 
here,  but  such  license  is  not  uncommon  in  songs. 
LuK -u-kit-au-l,  infinitive  of  ti' -kit-au-i,  he  rules.  In 
the  last  line  hu-kat =  in  front  of,  or  along;  a  is  sign 
of  the  plural;  i-wur-i  for  tt'-wur-t,  it  moves. 

Lu !     ti-wak-o-i 


*  Repeat. 


Well !     he  exclaimed,  ) 

Lu  ti-wak'  -o-le,  e,  e\  e',  e\  e\ 
We-tut-i-wit' -a, 
You  see  I  am  come, 

Pit'  -a-le-shar-u. 
I,  Pit-a-le-shar-u. 


This  song  is  in  commemoration  of  the  oft-re 
counted  heroism  of  Pit-a-le-shar-u  in  rescuing,  un 
aided,  from  the  Skidi  band,  a  captive  Comanche  girl. 
The  girl  had  already  been  bound  to  the  stakes  as  a 
propitiatory  sacrifice  to  the  morning  star.  The 
medicine  men  were  in  the  act  of  kindling  the 
flames  beneath  her  when  Pit-a-le-shar-u  rushed  upon 


The  Pawnee  Language.  435 

the  scene,  cut  the  cords,  though  guns  and  arrows 
were  aimed  at  him,  and  triumphantly  bore  her  away. 
In  the  first  line  lu  is  probably  for  lau'-a,  a  form  of 
address  when  persons  meet.  The  syllable  le  is  eu 
phonic.  We-tut-i-wik' -a  from  ti-wtk'-d,  he  arrives. 

Id1 -i  hau'-d     we-tus-ta' -kit-au-i,      \  ,. 
In  this    also    it  is  known  you  are  ruling,   J 

Lus-ta'-kau-d-huk-e. 
You  (who)  dwell  above. 

Id'-i  hau'-d  we-tiis-ta' -kit-au-i,  /',  /',  / ',  *',  i\(bis.) 

Lus-ta'-kau-d-huk-e. 

Id'-i  hau'-d  we-tus-ta' -kit-au-i,  i\  /',  /',  /',  /'. 

This  song  is  of  a  religious  nature,  sung  especially 
in  times  of  disappointment,  grief,  or  in  defiance  of 
fear  or  death.  In  it,  as  in  most  songs,  the  feature  of 
repetition  is  very  manifest.  The  special  excellence 
of  such  a  production  with  the  Pawnee  seems  often 
to  consist  in  its  intense  brevity.  In  this  way  it  may 
be  more  easily  retained  in  memory  and  fuller  scope 
is  given  for  the  refrain  element  in  singing. 

In  the  second  line  lus  is  for  tus,  ta  is  the  sign  of  a 
plural  subject,  kau'-d  is  from  uk'-ar-u,  a  lodge;  huk 
is  probably  from  ti' -kit-uk,  he 'is  above,  and  e  is  eu 
phonic.  This  word  is  often  heard  as  a  term  of  ap 
peal  to  or  recognition  of  the  powers  above.  When 


436  Appendix. 

smoking,  earnest-minded  Pawnees  always  blow  puffs 
toward  the  sky  with  the  ejaculation, 

Ti-lus-ta' -kau-d-hut          skur  '-a   tus-ta' -kit-au-i 
This  that  you  (are  who)  dwell  above,    alone          you  are  ruling 

ti' -lut-pur-L 
this  that  I  am  living  (my  life). 

The  first  and  last  words  in  this  expression  illus 
trate  a  peculiar  feature  of  the  language — the  prefix 
ing  of  the  fragmentary  pronoun  of  the  third  person 
to  verbs  in  the  second  and  first  person.  In  this  way 
the  meaning  of  such  verbal  forms  is  presented  as  a 
matter  of  contemplative  reflection  or  speculation. 


Perhaps  it  is  not  unfitting  that  this  sketch  should 
close  here.  No  one  can  appreciate  its  inadequacy 
more  keenly  than  the  writer,  yet  it  is  with  unalloyed 
pleasure  that  with  all  its  incompleteness  it  is  sub 
mitted.  The  study  of  the  language  and  literature  of 
this  people,  as  with  all  Indians,  is  the  only  available 
key  to  reveal  their  true  character  and  capabilities. 
Since  known  to  the  white  man,  the  Indian  has  been 
met  on  every  avenue  of  approach  save  this,  and  in 
almost  every  instance  with  results  disastrous  to  him- 


The  Pawnee  Language.  437 

self.  The  statesman  has  usually  looked  upon  him  as 
offering  convenient  scope  for  the  arts  of  civilized 
diplomacy;  the  soldier  as  an  outlaw  fit  only  for  ex 
termination;  the  litterateur  as  a  picturesque  subject 
for  fanciful  embellishment;  the  philanthropist  as  an 
occasion  for  ill-advised  sentimentation;  and  even  the 
missionary  has  at  times  allowed  himself  to  misinter 
pret  the  better  qualities  of  his  pupils,  and  thereby 
limited  the  earnestly  sought  results  of  his  labor. 
Only  when  reduced  to  a  comparative  remnant,  and 
many  of  these  in  an  advanced  state  of  decline,  has 
the  careful  student  begun  to  discover  and  trace  their 
real  nature  and  true  qualities.  Among  them  when 
thus  approached  the  Pawnee  may  easily  claim  honor 
able  place.  His  history,  so  far  as  known,  reads 
almost  like  a  romance;  while  his  character  reveals 
no  small  endowment  of  native  power,  of  kindly  sen 
timent  and  of  nob)*?  aspiration  and  endeavor  in 
thought  and  in  act. 


INDEX. 


Agriculture  in  the  old  times,  252;  present,  401. 

Animals,  sacred  character  of,  17;  see  also  Nahu'rac. 

Antelope  and  deer,  story  of,  204. 

Apaches,  392. 

Arapahoes,  47,  323  et  seq. 

Arickaras,  Arickarees,  159,  218,  229,  231,  239. 

Arkansas,  Pawnees  in,  229. 

Arms,  263. 

Arrows,  205,  264,  282. 

Arrow  heads  of  stone,  249,  251,  253,  352,  365;  of  bone  and 

horn,  252;  of  sheet-iron,  252,  377. 
A-ti'-us,  198  et  seq. 
Auger,  General,  325. 
Ax,  66. 

Baby  on  board,  141. 

Battles,  mode  of  fighting,  312. 

Bear  Chief,  20,  141,  225,  235,  252,  363. 

Bear  dance,  origin  of,  128. 

Bear  Man,  story  of,  12 1. 

Bear's-eyes,  241. 

Big  Knife,  141. 

Big  Shields,  235. 

Blackfoot  story  of  deer  and  antelope,  205. 

Bone  implements,  170,  254. 

Bows,  205,  264,  282. 

Boy  who  saw  A-ti'-us,  195. 

Boy  who  was  Sacrificed,  161. 


Index.  439 

Buffalo,  hunting,  135  et  seq.,  249;  summer  hunt,  270. 

Buffalo  staves,  271,  277. 

Bundles,  sacred,  351,  360,  364,  371. 

Burnt  offerings,  361;  see  sacrifices. 

Caddos,  218,  222,  228. 

Captive,  sacrifice  of,  362. 

Carr,  General,  325. 

Cedar  tree,  126. 

Ceremonies,  of  the  hunt,  272;  religious,  360. 

Chau-i,  215  et  seq.,  233,  241,  260,  400. 

Cheyenne  Blanket,  A,  76. 

Cheyennes,  39,  48,  64,  65,  74,  76,  190,  246,  266,  307,  309,  323 

et  seq. 

Chief,  office  of,  260. 
Clothing,  257,  262. 
Comanche  Chief,  25. 

Comanches,  25-44,  49,  65,  83,  186,  246,  307,  3Q2. 
Cooper's  Indian  characters,  13. 
Corn,  origin,  254,  356;  sacred  character,  254,  256. 
Corn  dance,  369. 

Counting  coup,  47,  93,  179,  188,  356,  367. 
Court  House  Rock,  67,  88. 
Crier,  163. 

Crook,  General,  325,  399. 
Crooked  Hand,  317. 
Crows,  307. 

Curly  Chief,  2O,  235,  257,  347,  36*?, 
Customs,  249. 
Cyclones,  361,  404. 


Dakotas,  307,  309. 
Dances,  190,  369,  387, 
Dancing,  192. 


44°  Index. 

Deer,  chase  of ,  251;  and  antelope,  story  of ,  204. 

Deer  dance,  origin  of,  190. 

Dishes,  256. 

Dog  as  beast  of  burden,  265. 

Doctors,  98,  99,  350,  374. 

Dress,  262. 

Dull  Knife,  74. 

Dun  Horse,  The,  87. 

Dunbar,  John  B.,  19,  212,  213.  Essay  on  Language,  409. 

Eagle  Chief,  7,  20,  363,  408. 
Elk,  chase  of,  251. 
Elk  Left  Behind,  383. 
Emory,  General,  325. 
Enemies,  303. 

Faith,  Story  of,  98. 

Farms  and  Farming,  401. 

Fire-sticks,  203,  257,  259. 

Fleshers,  170. 

Flint  stones,  252. 

Flood,  tradition  of,  356. 

Food  as  pledge  of  hospitality,  59. 

Fremont,  General  John  C.,  329. 

Future  life,  belief  in,  356. 

Ghost  Bride,  The,  191. 
Ghost  Wife,  The,  129. 
Ghosts,  belief  in,  356,  357. 
Giants,  tradition  of,  354. 
Good  Chief,  20,  217. 
Government,  form  of,  260. 
Grand  Pawnees,  216,  240. 
Guide  Rock,  359. 


Index.  441 

Hair,  mode  of  wearing,  25,  239,  243,  263. 

Head  chief,  office  of,  260. 

High  priestship,  353. 

Hoes  of  bone,  255. 

Horses,  249,  265,  398;  stealing,  15. 

Houses,  ancient,  266;  modern,  400. 

Hunting  methods,  early,  269;  see  buffalo  hunting. 

Huecos,  218,  228. 

Indian  character,  11-15. 

Indian  Territory,  removal  to,  389. 

Jackson,  Mrs.,  her  "Ramona,"  12;  "Century  of  Dishonor,"  397. 

Kansas,  307. 

Ka'wis,  148,  291. 

Kaws,  308,  392. 

Keechies,  218,  227,  228. 

Kiowas,  49,  65,  307,  309,  323  et  sey.,  392. 

Kiri-kur'-uks,  241. 

Kit-ke-hahk'-i,  215,  241,  400. 

Kitz-a-witz-uk  Nahu'rac  lodge,  165,  358. 

Knives,  75,  120;  of  flint,  249,  352;  scabbard,  75. 

Kut-a'wi-kutz,  story  of,  25. 

Language,  21,  212,  409. 
Lariats,  257. 
Leader  of  Soldiers,  74. 
Left  Hand,  391. 

Lipans,  41,  218  et  seg.,  227,  231. 
Little  Warrior,  70. 
Little  Warrior's  Counsel,  79. 
Lodges,  194,  266,  349. 

Lone  Chief,  the  Kit-ke-hahk'-i,  story  of,  45;  removal  to  Indian 
Territory,  391  et  seq. 


44 3  Index. 

Lone  Chief,  the  Skidi,  160,  396,  397. 
"Lone  Tree  Nahu'rac  lodge,  112. 
Louisiana,  Pawnees  in,  227,  228. 
Loup  River  Nahu'rac  lodge,  112. 

Mackenzie,  General,  74,  325,  332, 
McKenzie,  Messrs.,  406. 
McKinney,  Lieutenant,  74. 
Magic,  375. 

Man  who  Called  the  Buffalo,  132. 
Mats,  257. 
Medicine,  374. 
Medicine  men,  350,  374. 
Mexico,  Pawnees  in,  224. 
Mystery,  375. 

Nahu'rac,  18,  102  et  seq.,  122,  147,  154,  164  et  seq.;  lodges,  104 
et  seq.,  165,  358;  messenger  bird  of ,  105,  164. 

Names  of  the  tribe,  239;  of  the  Skidi  bands,  237;  personal, 
241,  242,  changing,  329. 

Nebraska,  the  home  of  the  Pawnees,  229;  removal  from,  389. 

North,  Captain  Luther  H.,  20,  47,  212,  398. 

North,  Major  Frank,  20,  47,  212,  216,  322,  323,  398. 

Notes  on  the  Pawnees,  211. 

Omahas,  230,  273,  305. 
O'-re-ka-rahr,  182. 
Osages,  47,  49,  307. 
Osborne,  Major,  405. 
Otoes,  273,  305,  392. 

Pack  ponies,  279,  281. 

Pa-da'-ni,  240. 

Pa'howa  Nahu'rae  lodge,  no,  358. 


Index.  443 

Pa'hut,  185. 

Pa-huk  Nahu'rac  lodge,  103,  165,  358. 

Pa-hur'  Nahu'rac  lodge,  165,  359. 

Pa-hu-ka'-tawa,  story  of,  142. 

Paint,  263. 

Pa-na'-na,  240. 

Pa'-ni,  a  form  of  Pawnee,  21. 

Pa'-ni  Le-shar,  323. 

Parfleche,  195,  198,  388. 

Pawnee  Loups,  216. 

Pawnee  Picts,  215,  217,  239. 

Pawnee  sign,  243. 

Pawnees,  The,  past  and  present  condition,  9,  10;  character,  10; 
religion,  17;  language,  21,  212;  relationships,  215;  the  four 
bands,  215;  origin  and  migrations,  223;  the  Skidi  band, 
231;  name  and  emblem,  239;  early  customs,  249;  endur 
ance,  251;  every-day  life,  259;  as  horsemen,  265;  kind  dis 
position,  269;  on  the  hunt,  270;  enemies  and  methods  of 
warfare,  303;  relations  toward  the  whites,  310;  battles 
with  the  Sioux,  313;  the  Pawnee  Scouts,  323;  war  parties, 
335;  religious  beliefs,  350;  religious  ceremonies,  360;  me 
dicine  and  mystery  among,  374;  later  history,  removal  to 
the  Indian  Territory,  389;  present  condition  and  progress, 

397- 

Pawnee  Scouts,  47,  74,  261,  322  et  seq.,  399. 
Peace-Maker,  story  of,  25. 
Pemmican,  139. 

Pipe,  44;  passing  the,  34,  36,  37,  109,  no,  113,  114. 
Pi-ta'-da,  33,  56,  240. 
Pita-hau-erats,  215,  241,  400. 
Pi'ta  Le-shar,  278,  281,  283,  293,  394,  395,  396. 
Pities-the-Poor,  Chief,  342. 
Poncas,  273,  305. 
"Poor  in  mind,"  50,  104. 


444  Index. 

Pottery,  255. 

Prayer,  18,  19,  53,  68,  99,  101  et  seq.,  181,  201,  271,  338,  342, 

345,  348,  362. 
Priests,  350. 
Prisoners  of  Court  House  Rock,  67. 

"Ramona,"  12. 

Rattle,  120. 

Rawhide,  story  of  the,  310. 

Rees,  see  Arickaras. 

Republican  Pawnees,  216,  240. 

Ropes,  257. 

Royal,  General,  325. 

Runners,  251. 

Running  Chief,  47. 

Sacrifices,  18,  49,  66,  79,  102,  161,  253,  271,  346,  348,  357,  361, 

362,  370,  382. 

St.  Louis,  Skidi  near  site  of,  233. 
Scabbard,  75. 
Scalp  dance,  329. 
Scalp  lock,  239,  243,  263. 
Scalp  sacrifice,  362. 
Secret  Pipe  Chief,  21,  224,  235,  352. 
Servants,  261. 
Shamans,  350. 
Shield,  78. 
Signs,  243. 
Sinew,  254, 
Sioux,  67,  92  et  seq.,  123,  152,  156,  232,  291,  312  et  seq.,  323  et 

seg.,  390,  392. 
Ska-di'ks,  317. 

Skidi,  216,  229,  231,  248,  400;  bands,  237. 
Skur'-ar-aLe-shar,  story  of,  45. 


Index. 

Smoking,  101,  118,  119,  344;  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  342,  354. 

Snake  Brother,  The,  171. 

Song  of  triumph,  305;  songs  of  different  tribes,  219, 

Spoons,  256. 

Spotted  Horse,  391  et  seq. 

Spotted  Robe,  89. 

Stick  Game,  337. 

Summer  hunt,  270. 

Sun  Chief,  385. 

Tall  Bull,  329. 

Tapage  Pawnees,  216,  240. 

Tawaconies,  218,  228. 

Texas,  Pawnees  in,  227. 

They-know-that-Leader,  336. 

Thornburgh,  Major,  79. 

Thunder,  360. 

Ti'-ke-wa'-kush,  132. 

Ti-ra'-wa,  17,  19,  45,  117,  122,  126,  136,  252,  253,  271,   337, 

342,  350,  352,  360. 
Ti-ra'-wa  Le-shar,  396. 
Tonkaways,  41,  218  et  seq.,  227. 
Travois,  265,  279. 
Treaties,  258,  397. 
Tribal  mark,  243. 
Turkey  Leg,  331. 

Union  Pacific  Railway,  324. 
Utes,  41,  71,  80,  307. 

Wacos,  217. 

Warfare,  303. 

War  parties,  15,  175  et  seq.,  335. 

War  stratagems,  234,  246. 

Weeks,  Ralph  J.,  20,  74. 


446  Index. 


Whip,  73- 

Whirlwinds,  ghosts,  357. 

White  Eagle,  see  Eagle  Chief. 

White,  Frank,  21,  391  et  seq. 

Whites,  Pawnees'  relations  toward,  310;  first  meeting  with,  258; 

aggressions  of,  389,  397. 
Wichitas,  49  et  seq.,  215,  217,  220-229,  239,  241,  246,  265,  307, 

308,  391.  392- 

Wi-ti-ti  le-shar'-uspi,  65,  308. 

Wolf,  name  for  Pawnee,  241,  244,  245,  248;  sign,  244. 
Wolf  disguise,  71,  246. 
Wolf  Pawnees,  216. 
Wolves  in  the  Night,  70. 

Yellow  Fox,  story  of,  206. 


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